Global Express | October 10, 2026 — Saudi-Led Coalition Strikes Houthi Targets as Yemen War Spills Over

1. Saudi-Led Coalition Strikes Houthi Targets as Yemen War Spills Over

Source: CBS News

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said Saturday (Oct 10) that it destroyed 136 military targets in a "large-scale operation" against the Iran-backed group. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on X that the operation targeted "the personnel and capabilities of the Houthi terrorist militia." The Houthi-run Almasirah TV reported that Saudi missiles struck areas in the northwestern governorate of Saada.

The conflict reignited in July and has since spilled over into the kingdom. In addition to seizing territory along Yemen's Red Sea coast, the Houthis have hit transport hubs and oil facilities in the world's largest crude exporter with drones and missiles. A Saudi diplomat said Friday that Yemeni government forces, backed by coalition air support, had taken the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Mayyun Island from the Houthis.

The escalation has prompted travel warnings. Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Canada have advised their citizens against travel to parts of Saudi Arabia, after an attack on Thursday killed three civilians at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said humanitarian flights to and from Riyadh airport would require authorization from Sanaa. At an upstate New York rally, President Trump said of Iran: "Either they give us everything, or they don't exist any longer."

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2. Ukrainian Drones Strike Key Russian Oil Hub, Sparking Blaze

Source: Kyiv Post

Ukrainian strike drones hit the Yug Rusi oil transshipment terminal in Rostov-on-Don early Saturday (Oct 10), igniting a large blaze. Residents reported multiple explosions and visible air-defense fire from late Friday into the early morning. Rostov Regional Governor Yuriy Slyusar confirmed an aerial attack and a fire, saying emergency responders had deployed to contain the blaze and that no casualties were recorded.

Independent Russian outlet Astra geolocated residents' footage to confirm the fire broke out at the Yug Rusi petroleum-products terminal in Rostov-on-Don's Zheleznodorozhny district. The facility is a key logistics node with a designed annual handling capacity of about 2.5 million metric tons, processing fuel from the Novoshakhtinsk refinery for Russia's military and for export revenue. Slyusar said Russian air defenses intercepted at least 50 drones over the Rostov region from Friday evening to Saturday morning.

The strike is part of Ukraine's systematic campaign against Russian fuel logistics. On Oct. 9, Ukrainian drones hit the Redkino Experimental Plant in the Tver region, which makes the Decylin-M fuel component used in Russian Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles; an oil depot north of Belgorod; and a Yandex data center in Kaluga. On Oct. 8, Ukraine's Special Operations Forces said they carried out a deep strike on the Omsk Oil Refinery in Siberia, roughly 2,500 km away.

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3. Trump Blasts Nobel Peace Prize: 'No One Ever Heard of Her'

Source: Euronews

US President Donald Trump delivered a lengthy, scathing rant on Truth Social over the decision to award South African jurist Navanethem "Navi" Pillay the Nobel Peace Prize, calling it an "indelible stain on Norway." He wrote: "I know nothing about this woman, and neither does anyone else! In fact, to the best of my knowledge, no one ever heard of her other than the fact that she, very obviously, hates Israel." He added that he "should have won 8 Nobel Peace Prizes" for having "settled 8 wars."

Trump listed the conflicts he said he had settled as Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Israel and Hamas. He said the prize "has been forever discredited by a handful of radical ideologues who are anti-democracy, and enemies of civilization." After learning she had won, Pillay said playfully: "If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump."

Pillay was born in Durban, South Africa, worked as a defence attorney for anti-apartheid activists, served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, and became a judge at the International Criminal Court in 2003. Also on Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the US would sanction the International Criminal Court, saying Washington "will ban transactions with this rogue court."

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4. EU and China Clinch Deal to Curb Hybrid Car Exports

Source: POLITICO.eu

The European Union and China reached an agreement on Friday (Oct 9) to curb China's booming hybrid car exports, a breakthrough in negotiations aimed at rebalancing their trade relationship. Wrapping up two days of talks in Beijing, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said: "We have reached a shared understanding to moderate China's export of hybrids and plug-in hybrids to the European Union. This opens the prospect of cutting China's exports by more than a half."

Sefcovic said the estimate was based on projections of how Chinese exports would grow over the next four years without the agreement, and that in practical terms it would prevent "several millions of car exports from China to the European Union." He said Beijing also agreed to lower duties on European goods worth 4 billion euros, ranging from olive oil to footwear, saving exporters 225 million euros. China's Commerce Ministry highlighted the understanding on hybrids in a 16-point statement but offered no details on how exports would be restrained.

Chinese auto exports to Europe have been booming, accounting in August for one in eight cars sold in the bloc, mainly driven by hybrids; European automakers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have recently announced job cuts and plant closures. The EU's trade deficit with China totaled nearly 360 billion euros in 2025 and is already up 12 percent this year. The two sides plan to meet again in March 2027 and to hold a video call in January.

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5. Trump Reverses Course: Announces Diesel Deal With Putin

Source: DW (Deutsche Welle)

US President Donald Trump said Friday (Oct 9) that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to supply Russian diesel to the United States and global markets. In a social media post, Trump said he struck the deal during a call that outsiders believed was about a suspected plague outbreak in Russia. He said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons immediately, another 500,000 tons in November, followed by 1 million tons, and then 3 million more tons "within a short period of time." The US Treasury issued a temporary license allowing Russian diesel into global markets until April 2027.

The move marks a sharp reversal of US policy toward Moscow since the war in Ukraine began — Trump had just last month signed a broad Russia sanctions law named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham. Ines Pohl, DW's Washington bureau chief, analyzed that the diesel deal is mainly about domestic politics: with midterm elections only weeks away, Trump is under heavy pressure over high energy prices and seems to be betting that, for many Americans, pump prices ultimately matter more than geopolitical consequences.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the deal, saying that easing any sanctions without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is a clear sign of "weakness." In a post on X on Saturday, he said that just as Russia was being "thanked" for lifting diesel export sanctions, it dropped five glide bombs on a residential building in Zaporizhzhia, killing 12 people including three children. According to US envoy Steve Witkoff, US, Ukrainian, European and NATO representatives held "constructive" talks in Miami and agreed to continue diplomatic efforts.

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6. Crumbl Cookies Closes Dozens of Stores as Inflation Bites

Source: KSL News

Utah-based cookie chain Crumbl is closing dozens of stores and laying off employees at its headquarters after a bad batch of sales reports. Crumbl's sales in August were 70 percent lower this year than two years ago, according to Restaurant Business. Fifty-seven locations are shutting down as a result, with reported layoffs at Crumbl's headquarters in Lindon.

Zions Bank senior economist Robert Spendlove believes the downturn may be because people are cutting back on spending and buying fewer items they see as a luxury. "People just don't feel great about the economy," he said, "and a big reason for that is they're facing constant pressure of rising prices and higher inflation." He noted that Crumbl's recent move into "dirty sodas" was a costly endeavor, and that in this kind of economy companies should focus on core competencies instead of untested ideas.

Crumbl CEO Jason McGowan reportedly told franchise owners that he takes responsibility for the downturn: "I'm the CEO and the buck stops with me. It's my fault where we are today." Despite the closures, Crumbl still has about 1,000 locations across the country.

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7. Kenya's First Ebola Case: Patient Crossed Three Nations Undetected

Source: BBC

A Kenyan businessman was able to spend time in a region worst-affected by Ebola, then travel to two more countries before his illness was identified. The 40-year-old was only diagnosed with the deadly disease after arriving seriously ill at a Nairobi hospital, becoming Kenya's first confirmed case; he died two days later, on Oct. 5. Africa CDC has reconstructed his movement across nearly six weeks, revealing several missed opportunities to detect the infection.

The man had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for seven years and travelled across three of its provinces on business. His symptoms first emerged around Sept. 15, and he was given antibiotics and sent home. On Sept. 17 he was admitted to a health centre in Bondo, where he stayed until Sept. 19; despite fever and a rash, he was diagnosed with a skin infection. On Sept. 20 he flew to Kisangani, where he spent more than 10 days, then flew to Beni on Oct. 1 and travelled to Kasindi, crossing into Uganda that day. On Oct. 3 he flew from Entebbe International Airport to Nairobi.

Ugandan officials said his temperature was normal during airport screening — health experts say the case highlights the limits of relying on temperature checks and self-declarations. Lab tests confirmed he had the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, the same one behind the DR Congo outbreak, where more than 4,000 people have died this year in the second deadliest known outbreak. Kenya has identified 66 potential contacts, a number the WHO says is likely to rise.

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8. Three Convicted in 2024 Killing of Surfers in Mexico

Source: CNN

A local judge on Friday found three Mexicans guilty of the murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend in April 2024 in Mexico's Baja California. Judge Raul Hernandez in the coastal city of Ensenada ruled that Jesus Gerardo Garcia, alias "El Kekas," Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus were responsible for the deaths of Australians Callum and Jake Robinson and American Carter Redd Rhoad. The defendants, in custody for more than two years, were also found guilty of armed robbery and armed carjacking.

The three had travelled to Baja California in April 2024 to surf, but were reported missing shortly after arriving in the town of Punta San Jose, about 80 km from Ensenada. Their bodies were found on May 3 in a well. "Today's guilty verdict is a significant moment in our long and painful journey to seek justice for our beautiful sons, Callum and Jake, and their friend Carter Rhoad," said father Martin Robinson.

During the month-long trial, chilling details emerged. Garcia's former partner, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, testified that Garcia confessed to her that he arrived at the tent where the foreigners were staying with a 9mm pistol. She was sentenced in November 2025 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence. The judge will announce the final sentence on Oct. 16; prosecutors have requested 210 years in prison for each defendant.

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9. Starlink's India Delay: Musk Escalates Attack on Ambani

Source: TechCrunch

As SpaceX struggles to launch Starlink in India, Elon Musk has stepped up his attack on billionaire Mukesh Ambani, mockingly calling him the country's "prime minister" to suggest he wields outsized influence over the government and accusing him of blocking the satellite internet service from competing. In a post on X on Friday, Musk argued that Starlink could bring internet access to areas that remain unconnected, give children more opportunities to learn, and help small businesses reach customers worldwide.

"Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?" Musk wrote. Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Ambani's Reliance Industries, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier in the week, Musk accused unnamed "oligarchs" of blocking Starlink's launch to protect their business interests; India's Ministry of Communications rejected the allegations, saying its regulatory framework for satellite communications is "fair and non-discriminatory."

On Thursday, Musk went further, asking in a separate post: "Is Ambani the real boss of India?" Last year, SpaceX struck distribution agreements with Ambani's Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, India's second-largest telecom operator, but Starlink has still not received the go-ahead from New Delhi to begin commercial operations. India's telecom minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, pushed back on Friday, saying the country "does not allow a monopoly in any sector."

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10. China's UN Envoy Urges De-escalation in Yemen

Source: Xinhua / Southeast Net

China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Fu Cong, told a UN Security Council open meeting on Yemen on Oct. 9 that the situation must be cooled as soon as possible, according to Xinhua. He said the ground situation in Yemen had changed significantly, with clashes erupting across multiple front lines including the western coast, pushing the battlefield into a new phase of high-intensity confrontation that has caused serious casualties and displacement, with negative spillover accelerating toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and regional countries.

Fu put forward three points. First, de-escalate the situation quickly: he called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid further provocation, encouraged the two sides to communicate through the UN Military Coordination Committee mechanism to avoid miscalculation, and supported regional countries in using their influence to promote peace talks. Second, return to a political settlement, stressing that Yemen's legitimate government is widely recognized and that the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Yemen and Saudi Arabia must be respected. Third, uphold international law by preventing attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure and by continuing humanitarian aid to Yemen.

Fu said the Yemen issue has dragged on for more than a decade, and that the conflict inside Yemen, maritime navigation security, and Yemen's relations with regional countries are three interlinked aspects that must be addressed in a coordinated way. He said China will continue to engage all parties and play a constructive role in advancing a political solution and restoring lasting peace in the region.

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