Latest news for 12 October 2026

SAUDI ARABIA

Deadly airport attack.

The latest Houthi strikes left another 13 dead and 300 injured at Riyadh’s international airport over the weekend, with the Iran-aligned, Yemen-based group now warning passengers against using Saudi airports. (BBC)

Comment: These attacks, the kingdom’s deadliest since the start of the Iran war, are a direct retaliation for the major Saudi-backed offensive that just recaptured key positions along the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. It’s a big hit to the Saudi “safe for business” narrative, with costs that are no longer theoretical — the CEOs of Exxon, Total, Shell, Chevron, and BP all just quietly dropped off this week’s World Petroleum Council congress, which kicked off yesterday (Sunday) — only BP seems to have cited “travel disruption”.

GREECE

Ambassador out?

The White House is reportedly weighing whether to fire the US ambassador to Greece, aka Trump Jr’s former fiancé, Kimberly Guilfoyle, amid reports of misconduct like “selling” access to top Trump officials. (WSJ $)

Comment: While political patronage for non-sensitive posts might be standard DC practice, scandals in strategic NATO buffer states carry real geopolitical costs. The main advantage of political appointees is often their direct presidential access, but clearly not if it gets hocked out — or even seen to be hocked out — for private gain, while host governments get stuck trying to navigate the line between US policy and ambassadorial ego.

PAKISTAN

Government suspended.

President Zardari has declared a state of emergency — and suspended the regional government — in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, citing the ruling PTI party’s inability to crack down on Islamist groups. (DW)Comment: In case your spidey senses just went off, they’re right: the opposition PTI has been organising a march on the Pakistani capital to call for the release of party leader, former PM, and cricket star Imran Khan. So this looks a lot like pre-emptive machinations to sideline the PTI.

CHINA

Crisis averted?

Beijing has agreed to voluntarily cap its own surging hybrid auto exports to the EU, accepting a new four-year tariff-rate quota framework from December. (Bloomberg $)Comment: It’s an olive branch aimed at heading off a broader trade war with Europe, whose own auto-industry is getting hammered by China’s increasingly high-quality, low-cost output (after decades of industrial support). It comes after China’s hybrid exports to Europe exploded 13-fold through a loophole in the EU’s 2024 tariffs on EVs. Likewise, there’s now a risk this new deal won’t simply reduce China’s exports into Europe, so much as just shift the final assembly into the BYD, Chery, and Great Wall plants now getting built across Europe. Or to put it another way, there’s a chance the competitive pressure on Europe’s automakers won’t go away, but just move inside the fence. Still, even this deal will have surprised most onlookers expecting the more divided EU would (again) blink first.

INDONESIA

Smelter melter.

Indonesia is mulling a freeze on new smelters producing semi-finished nickel, in hopes of curbing overproduction and safeguarding prices. (Antara)

Comment: Indonesia scored a win when — years ago — it banned raw nickel exports, forcing buyers (mostly in China) to build local refining capacity instead. The issue is many just invested the bare minimum to clear that new regulatory hurdle, creating a glut of cheap, partially processed metal still getting finalised elsewhere (mostly in China). So this is a follow-up attempt to force those foreign miners to invest even higher up the tech scale. Take it as an example of how resource nationalism tends not to be a binary switch, and more a constant dance.

PANAMA

Strong quake.

Authorities have declared a state of emergency after a 7.7 earthquake and 200 aftershocks hit southern Panama. Initial reports suggest that while the quake has damaged hundreds of homes, schools, and historic sites, there’ve been no lives lost. (AP)

Comment: Shout-out to Panama’s relatively strict building codes. Its key infrastructure assets — particularly the Canal (~5% of global maritime trade) and main airport — have also managed to continue operations. While we’re on natural disasters, check out some of the wild footage of flooding across Las Vegas, after Hurricane Rachel dumped record-breaking rainfall across the region.

SOUTH AFRICA

Peace Prize winner.

President Ramaphosa has hailed 85-year-old jurist Navi Pillay’s Nobel Peace Prize win, commending her “belief that the world can and should be a better place.” The US — long a critic of her UN inquiry accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza — has responded by levelling further sanctions against her former employer, the International Criminal Court. (CNN)

Comment: Pillay’s work has spanned the Rwanda tribunal, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, plus a term as the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights. She’s now the fifth South African to win a Nobel Peace Prize, joining 1960’s Albert Luthuli (for his non-violent struggle against apartheid), 1984’s Desmond Tutu (for his unifying non-violent role), and 1993’s joint Nelson Mandela + FW de Klerk (for their work laying the foundation for a democratic South Africa).