Global Express | October 15, 2026 Ukraine Resumes Strikes on Russian Oil Refineries as Zelenskyy Accuses US of Betrayal

1. Ukraine Resumes Strikes on Russian Oil Refineries as Zelenskyy Accuses US of Betrayal

Source: NBC News

Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries on October 15, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy angrily accused the United States of betraying Kyiv, calling its withdrawal of support critical to Ukraine's defense “dangerous.” Ukraine had held off attacks for three days after President Donald Trump’s unilateral “energy ceasefire” announcement, but accused Russia of repeatedly attacking its power grid.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Zelenskyy signaled his patience was exhausted: “The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done.” Hours later, the governor of Russia’s western Ryazan region, Pavel Malkov, reported a fire at an oil refinery, and Russia’s defense ministry said Ukraine had “attempted a massive attack on the Ryazan oil refinery.”

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine’s Starshield satellite service was throttled this week and was restored on the morning of October 15. He said more than 850 Russian drones had entered Ukrainian airspace since midnight. Elon Musk said decisions on restricting Starshield rest with the U.S. military and ultimately Trump, and overnight said it was “time for Zelenskyy to go.” Zelenskyy told Piers Morgan earlier this week that he felt “betrayed” by Trump.

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2. EU Postpones Riyadh Summit as Houthis Strike Saudi Arabia, Yemen Siege Fears Grow

Source: CBS News

The European Union said on October 15 that the second EU–Gulf Cooperation Council summit, originally planned for October 24 in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, has been postponed, with a new date to be announced later. The postponement came as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis continued attacking Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile in the Medina region that day, while the Houthis denied attacking Islam’s second holiest city, calling the Saudi claims a “shameless and brazen lie.”

Yemen’s government urged the United Nations and the Security Council to act urgently to end the Houthi siege of the southwestern city of Taiz. In a letter to senior UN officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Foreign Minister Afrah Al-Zouba warned the siege has worsened humanitarian conditions, with more than four million people at risk of a humanitarian catastrophe. She called for the immediate lifting of the siege and the reopening of supply routes.

The conflict also spilled onto the seas. An Iranian naval officer reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz “is closed,” and U.S. forces destroyed an Iran-affiliated vessel in the Gulf of Oman, U.S. Central Command said. Greek maritime monitor Marisks said three merchant vessels were struck by unidentified projectiles on Tuesday, showing ships face “indiscriminate” attacks in the strait. Trump said those who leak information about potential U.S. strikes on Iran “should be shot.”

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3. Brazil’s Senate Backs Shorter Workweek in Win for Lula Ahead of Runoff

Source: DW

Brazil’s Senate on October 15 approved a constitutional amendment to cut the working week from 44 to 40 hours — from six days to five — without a pay cut. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to sign it into law next week. With the runoff set for October 25, the legislative win could give Lula an edge over his opponent, Flavio Bolsonaro.

Known as the “6x1” reform, the amendment could benefit more than 37 million workers, according to the government. On X, Lula said ending the 6x1 is “more than a change in the workday,” calling it more time to live, rest and be with family — “a victory for workers.”

Lula has taken other steps to shore up support before the runoff, including fuel tax cuts, extending subsidies and pledging to pardon the debts of more than 3.6 million small businesses. The legislation still leaves out many in the shadow economy, such as freelancers and delivery drivers. Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro, had long opposed the bill but reversed course on Tuesday to back it. In the first round, he led Lula with 47% of the vote.

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4. UK Spy Chief Says Iran- and Russia-Linked Hybrid Attacks Are Mounting

Source: CBS News

In his annual threat update on October 13, MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum said the UK and the world have “entered a new era of national security, requiring a new response.” Among state threats, he said, “Russia remains aggressor number one,” while intelligence analysts have seen a “major shift” in “Iranian ambitions to come at harder targets.”

McCallum said both countries have adopted evolving “hybrid tactics,” targeting everything from air force bases to synagogues. More than 50 people have been arrested in the UK over the past year. He said much of the aggression has been aimed at British Jewish communities, including a wave of arson and sabotage. A group calling itself HAYI claimed many of the attacks; the UK has sanctioned it and said it is tied directly to Iran’s Quds Force.

McCallum also said Russia’s military and intelligence services are once again escalating hybrid warfare while “being careful to stay below the NATO Article 5 threshold.” He said it would be “foolish” for Moscow to cross that collective-defense line.

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5. Report: Top US Banks Dropped Customers Over Political and Religious Views

Source: CBS News

A report from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), released on October 14, says top U.S. banks have “debanked” customers because of their political or religious views, as well as their business activities. The report was issued under Trump’s 2025 executive order requiring federal banking regulators to review complaints, and examined 100,000 complaints and hundreds of bank decisions between 2020 and September 2025.

The OCC found that the nine largest national banks it supervises had policies that swayed decisions based on political, religious or business activities. “Americans should have access to financial services regardless of their beliefs, affiliations or political views. Fair access to financial services is not a mantra — it is a mandate,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said.

The report cited WePay, a payment processor now owned by JPMorgan Chase, which closed the accounts of several merchants selling MAGA- or Trump-related items. It also found some banks turned away businesses in oil and gas exploration, coal mining or firearms. Citibank and Wells Fargo declined to comment.

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6. BlackRock’s Fink Warns a Data Center Moratorium Could Trigger a Recession

Source: CNBC

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned on October 14 that a halt to data center construction could trigger an economic slowdown. “If we have a moratorium of some sort in this country, we will be in a recession,” Fink told CNBC after BlackRock reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. “So much of our economy is based on the buildout of this capex,” he said, referring to massive investments in AI infrastructure.

Fink’s warning came as opposition to data center construction has become a key issue in the November 3 midterm elections, with communities citing rising utility costs, water use, environmental damage and questions over investment transparency. Fink acknowledged fears about the buildout but said “most of it is on misinformation.”

Wall Street analysts estimate total AI capital expenditures could climb above $1 trillion in 2027 and exceed $5 trillion by 2030. “Data centers are not the problem. They’re creating more new jobs than ever before,” Fink said.

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7. School Roof Collapses in Northwestern Pakistan, Killing at Least 29

Source: Al Jazeera

The roof of a school in northwestern Pakistan collapsed on October 15, killing at least 28 students and a teacher and injuring more than 50 others. The incident occurred at Al-Khair Education Centre, a private school in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Lady Reading Hospital spokesman Mohammad Asim confirmed the casualties and said some of the injured were in critical condition.

Asim said all the children killed or injured were age 13 or younger, and the hospital declared an emergency. Hours after the collapse, rescue officials said everyone trapped under the rubble had been recovered. Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the school had about 350 registered students.

Authorities have ordered an investigation into the cause. “Our children are our most precious asset, and every such loss is a tragedy for the entire country,” Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on X, adding that the prime minister and government had taken serious note of the situation.

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8. US Report Details ‘Devastating’ Dating-App Scams

Source: The Guardian

A US congressional investigation, led by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), published a report on October 13 detailing the extent of romance scams on dating platforms owned by Match Group, which operates Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish and others.

The report says romance scams have become a leading form of financial fraud in the United States, costing Americans at least $1.3 billion annually. Internal documents provided by Match Group showed that, as of the second half of 2025, Tinder had not updated most of its machine learning models in years, making it less reliable at detecting scammers.

Data showed that through the third quarter of 2025 in the US, nearly 1.5 million scammers or other bad actors on Tinder and Hinge had “matched with at least one other user,” and nearly 500,000 of those accounts exchanged contact information with another user. One victim, “Mary,” said she lost almost $100,000 in cryptocurrency, describing the experience as “like being in a vortex.” Match said the report “mischaracterizes” its investment and stressed new measures such as facial verification.

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9. AI Giant Anthropic Flags 45% Revenue Surge Ahead of Listing

Source: BBC

Anthropic’s revenue rose 45% to $16.8 billion in the three months to the end of September, the BBC understands. The figures were revealed by the Claude developer in an October 14 briefing for prospective investors as it lays the groundwork for a stock market listing expected before the end of the year.

Anthropic’s revenue has risen in successive quarters this year, from $4.7 billion in the first three months to $11.6 billion the following period, and the company reportedly told investors it had made a profit for the second quarter in a row. Its figures, along with those of rival OpenAI, are an important gauge of the AI industry’s growth.

Meanwhile, concerns over the hundreds of billions of dollars being spent on AI infrastructure weighed on tech stocks. Chip makers AMD, Nvidia and Intel fell sharply. In Asia, SoftBank dropped more than 9%, Samsung fell 9.5% and SK Hynix 11%; trading on South Korea’s Kospi and Kosdaq was briefly halted after falling more than 8%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost close to 5%. The declines deepened after US inflation data on Wednesday came in higher than expected.

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10. Japan Summons Russian Ambassador Over Detained Journalist

Source: China News Service

Japan’s foreign ministry summoned Russia’s ambassador to Japan, Nikolai Nozdryov, on October 14 to protest Russia’s detention of a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage. Japan said Russia detained the Japanese national without any explanation to the Japanese government and unilaterally released the news, and lodged a strong protest, demanding information and humane and fair treatment.

Russia’s Federal Security Service said on October 13 that it had detained a Hokkaido Shimbun correspondent in Sakhalin on suspicion of spying. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference that, as of the afternoon of October 14, Japan had “not yet been able to contact the journalist.” Japanese media reported the government is finding the situation difficult to handle.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on October 13 that Japan had tried to use its correspondent to gather intelligence aimed at undermining Russia’s security, and that this would further worsen Russia-Japan relations, calling on Tokyo to change course.

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