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Russia Claims Two Ukrainian Towns as Advances Accelerate

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Russia said on Tuesday it had taken two eastern Ukrainian towns and open-source data indicated that Moscow’s forces were advancing at their fastest pace in at least a year, amid signs the conflict is drawing in new players such as North Korea.

Russia’s Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said the country’s forces had seized control of the town of Selydove, which had a population of 20,000 before the war, as well as the town of Hirnyk, which had a pre-war population of over 10,000.

Ukraine’s military did not comment directly on the Russian claims, but reported 31 combat clashes on the Pokrovsk front during the past 24 hours, including near Selydove. Open-source intelligence maps showed part of Selydove as being under Russian control.

According to the Russian media group Agentstvo, which analyzed Ukrainian open-source data, Russia made even bigger gains in the week of Oct. 20-27, taking 196.1 square kilometers (75.7 square miles) of Ukrainian territory – “the fastest weekly advance since at least the beginning of this year.”

The advance of Moscow’s forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia’s vast numerical superiority in men and materiel as Ukraine pleads for more weapons from its Western allies.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said the US will not impose new limits on Ukraine’s use of American weapons if North Korea joins Russia’s war, as NATO reported that North Korean military units had been deployed to the Kursk region. The Pentagon estimated that 10,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia for training.

The 2-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what Russian analysts say is its most dangerous phase as Moscow’s forces advance, North Korea sends troops to Russia and the West ponders how the conflict will end.

Massive Sewage Geyser Erupts in Moscow, Raining Down on Streets Below

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Stomach-churning social media footage from Russia captures a geyser the size of a tower block of sewage shooting 180 feet into the air and raining down on the streets below in the Novaya Moskva district of Moscow.

The foul fountain raged for several minutes, with several cars seen close by that likely got hit with the waste water. Residential buildings and pedestrians in the area were also likely affected by the deluge of sewage.

“A shit show, literally,” one X (formerly Twitter) user captioned the moment, while Ukrainian patriot Anton Gerashchenko shared the video with his 634,000 followers, where it has now racked up over 3.7 million views.

There was sympathy for those who would have to clean up the huge mess, with one commenter noting: “Imagine that it all fall down, transported by wind, smell… beurk!!! And the technicians are in the trenches at the frontline.”

According to Russia’s state-owned conglomerate Gazprom, the incident was caused by a new section of gas pipeline being cleaned out, with the company saying the situation is under control. Local authorities are reported as working to contain the damage and minimize health risks to the public.

This is not the first time the integrity of Russia’s sewage infrastructure has come into question. In January, a Russian politician criticized gender-neutral toilets found in Ukraine, noting that a quarter of Russians do not have access to centralized sewerage.

Cleanup crews are expected to remain on site until the sewage geyser incident is fully contained. The dramatic footage has sparked widespread disgust and mockery on social media over the state of Russia’s infrastructure.

Deadly Crash in India: At Least 12 Killed, Over 40 Injured as Bus Smashes into Concrete Tunnel

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At least 12 people have been killed and more than 40 others injured after a bus smashed into a concrete tunnel in India’s Sikar district, Rajasthan, India.

The privately operated bus lost control on a road in Sikar before colliding with a culvert at around 2 pm on Tuesday, say police. Terrified eyewitnesses told cops the bus started to swerve erratically before hitting the concrete structure at speed.

Two passengers are believed to have died during the initial impact, with harrowing pictures showing the aftermath of the accident. The front of the bus was completely crushed as emergency workers used a crane to move the wreckage.

Three others tragically died during surgery, said SK Hospital Superintendent Mahendra Khichad. Around 23 people are still undergoing treatment for various serious injuries.

Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma expressed his condolences, saying it was “truly heartbreaking that lives were lost in this unfortunate incident.” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced plans to provide financial assistance to the victims’ families and the injured.

There has been no confirmation on what caused the crash as of yet. India has seen a number of fatal bus crashes in recent months, including incidents where vehicles have plunged into gorges, highlighting the need for improved road safety measures.

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact circumstances that led to this latest tragic accident in Sikar. The local government has vowed to ensure the injured receive the best possible medical treatment.

Paul Pelosi Attacker Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole

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The man who broke into the home of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband with a hammer has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on state charges in California.

David DePape was also convicted on federal charges in May, leading to a 30-year prison sentence which will now be served concurrently. In the state trial, a San Francisco jury found DePape guilty of kidnapping, first-degree burglary and false imprisonment of an elder. The attack left Paul Pelosi, now 84, in the hospital for six days with a fractured skull and other injuries.

In a statement after the sentencing, the Pelosi family said that “legal justice has been served” and that the sentence sends a message “that political violence against elected officials or their family members will not be tolerated.”

Judge Harry Dorfman refused a defense request for a more lenient sentence, saying he did not feel sympathy for DePape and that it was his intention that the attacker “will never get out of prison, he can never be paroled.”

Video of the incident showed DePape, a Canadian citizen who has lived in the U.S. for two decades, breaking into the Pelosi home in California armed with a hammer on October 28, 2022. DePape admitted during his federal trial that he planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage, interrogate her on camera and “break her kneecaps” if she did not admit to what he claimed were her lies.

When police officers arrived, they found Paul Pelosi and DePape both gripping the hammer. Moments later, after being asked to drop the weapon, DePape abruptly struck Pelosi before being wrestled to the ground by officers.

In addition to a fractured skull, Pelosi suffered injuries to his arm and hand, having been struck three times during the attack. In a letter read by his daughter Christine, Pelosi said the incident left him with nerve damage and in fear of sleeping alone at home.

When given the chance to address the court, DePape spoke at length about conspiracy theories surrounding the 9/11 attacks, forced the judge to interrupt him several times. DePape’s lawyer had unsuccessfully argued that his client’s mental health issues and isolation made him vulnerable to propaganda.

TikTok Co-Founder Becomes China’s Richest Person

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The surging global popularity of TikTok has seen the co-founder of its parent company, ByteDance, become China’s richest person.

According to the Hurun Research Institute’s rich list, Zhang Yiming is now worth $49.3 billion (£38 billion) – 43% more than in 2023. The 41-year-old stepped down from his role in charge of the company in 2021, but is understood to own around 20% of the firm.

TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps in the world, despite deep concerns in some countries about its ties to the Chinese state. While both companies insist they are independent of the Chinese government, the US intends to ban TikTok in January 2025 unless ByteDance sells it.

Despite facing that intense pressure in the US, ByteDance’s global profit increased by 60% last year, driving up Zhang Yiming’s personal fortune.

“Zhang Yiming is the 18th new Number One we have had in China in just 26 years,” said Hurun head Rupert Hoogewerf. “The US, by comparison, has only four Number Ones: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. This gives an indication of some of the dynamism in the Chinese economy.”

Zhang is not the only representative of China’s huge tech sector on the list. Pony Ma, boss of the tech conglomerate Tencent, is third on the list with an estimated personal wealth amounting to £44.4 billion.

However, the Hurun China Rich List has shrunk for an unprecedented third year running, as China’s economy and stock markets had a difficult year. Only around 30% of the people on the list had an increase in their net worth, while the rest saw a decline.

“Solar panel, lithium battery and EV makers have had a challenging year, as competition intensified, leading to a glut, and the threat of tariffs added to uncertainties,” Hoogewerf said.

Russia Simulates ‘Massive’ Nuclear Strike in Drills Amid Ukraine War

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Russia has test-fired nuclear missiles from land, sea and air as it simulated a “massive” response to an attack from the West, with President Vladimir Putin warning that Russia would respond to any attack with “overwhelming” nuclear firepower.

“Taking into account growing geopolitical tensions and emerging new threats and risks, it’s important for us to have modern strategic forces that are always ready for combat,” Putin said.

The Russian military test-fired a Yars nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launchpad, while two nuclear-powered submarines in the Barents Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk launched ballistic missiles that can be armed with nuclear warheads. Tu-95 strategic bombers also launched practice long-range cruise missile attacks.

Andrey Belousov, Russia’s minister of defence, told Putin that the exercise simulated Russia’s “strategic offensive forces launching a massive nuclear strike in response to a nuclear strike by the enemy”.

The move comes as tensions remain high between Russia and the West over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In September, Putin lowered the threshold to launch a nuclear strike in Russia’s military doctrine.

Analysts noted that while the nuclear drills were planned in advance and not a direct reaction to recent exercises by the U.S., they reflect the increasing nuclear dangers amid the geopolitical tensions.

“Important to add that these exercises are planned long in advance and not a direct reaction to the other,” said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.

Ukraine is still trying to persuade its Western partners to allow it to fire Western-made long-range missiles at Russia, a move that the Kremlin has warned would trigger a major response.

Torrential Rains Batter Spain’s Coastal Resorts, at Least Four Missing

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At least four people are missing after torrential rains caused flash flooding across southern and eastern Spain, hitting popular holiday resorts.

Some areas across the Costa Del Sol, and further north in Valencia on the Costa Blanca, got a month’s worth of rain on Tuesday, as mud-colored waters carried away cars and cut off roads and rail connections.

Emergency services workers are looking for “around four” people who are missing in the wake of the flash floods, Letur Mayor Sergio Marin Sanchez told Spanish public television. “We couldn’t have predicted anything like this was going to happen. It’s a major catastrophe.”

A lorry driver disappeared on Tuesday afternoon in the town of L’Alcudia in the Valencia region, while in the Paiporta area a bridge was filmed collapsing into the river. On Tuesday evening, the entire province of Valencia, which has a population of 5.5 million, was told to avoid travel.

In the southern region of Andalusia, a high-speed train with 276 passengers derailed, although no one was injured, the regional government said. Emergency services also rescued scores of people in Alora in Andalusia, some by helicopter, after a river overflowed.

Spain’s weather agency AEMET has declared a red alert in the eastern Valencia region and the second-highest level of alert in parts of Andalusia in the south. National rail infrastructure operator ADIF said it had suspended high-speed trains between Madrid and Valencia as a result of the storm.

An emergency rescue brigade of Spain’s army has been deployed to help with rescue efforts. The storms are forecast to continue through Thursday. Scientists say extreme weather events like these are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Meteorologists believe the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rain more severe

Shots Fired at Atlanta Four Seasons Hotel Building, Suspect in Custody

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A police officer and a suspected shooter were injured Tuesday after gunfire erupted at a Midtown Atlanta building occupied by a Four Seasons hotel and residences, authorities said.

Officers responded to the high-rise after 10 a.m. following a dispute between a Four Seasons worker and a man on the 33rd floor, which is occupied by residences, said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. The man fired at least once from the balcony of a residence, also firing through walls and doors, though no other injuries were reported.

The officer was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect, Jay Steven Berger, 70, who used as many as three guns including a handgun and at least one long gun, was also hospitalized, though the extent of his injuries was not specified.

At least two officers returned fire during the incident. The 33rd floor was evacuated as police negotiated with the man, who ultimately refused to come out. Police then breached the door of the unit to rush him and take him into custody.

“We saw bravery,” Schierbaum said. “We saw an effort made to preserve life.”

Mayor Andre Dickens said the gunman was wearing what appeared to be a gas mask, though it was unclear why. He said more than 15 shots were fired during the incident.

Because police used force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation will investigate officers’ response, Schierbaum said.

At 4:35 p.m., police said a shelter-in-place order for those in and near the high-rise on 14th Street Northeast has been lifted and that a suspect was in custody. The police department asked people to continue to avoid the area as it investigated.

The Four Seasons hotel takes up 19 of 53 stories of the high-rise and occupies 244 rooms, 23 of which are designated suites. The building also includes 96 residences and 97,000 square feet of office space.

3 Men Indicted for Alleged Plot to Attack Jewish Target in Germany

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Three men have been charged in a case that involves an alleged plan to attack a Jewish target in western Germany, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The 25-year-old main suspect, a German citizen, flew to Istanbul in April with the intention of continuing to Syria to join with Islamic extremist fighters, prosecutors in Stuttgart said. That plan failed and he returned to Germany.

Along with an 18-year-old German-Turkish dual national, he then allegedly planned an attack on a Jewish facility in either Heidelberg or Mannheim. The pair also discussed getting fatally shot by police after such an attack and then having a video claim of responsibility released with recriminations against German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his policy toward Israel, prosecutors said.

The aim of the planned attack was an end to cooperation between Germany and Israel, they added. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel.

The main suspect is already in custody because he is accused of the attempted manslaughter of a German police officer during a raid in May related to the alleged attack plan. He has now been charged with preparing a serious act of violence and conspiracy to murder.

The 18-year-old, who is also in custody, was charged with being an accessory to preparing a serious act of violence and conspiracy to murder.

A second 25-year-old German is accused of driving the main suspect to Stuttgart Airport, knowing that the man’s plan was to try to travel to Syria. He was charged with being an accessory to preparing a serious act of violence.

The state court in Heilbronn will have to decide whether, and if so when, to send the case to trial.

Over 2,000 Salvadoran Soldiers Fence Off Neighborhood in Gang Crackdown

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More than 90 people, including 20 children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Gaza early Tuesday, local officials said, the deadliest attack in months as Israel wages a renewed assault on the northern part of the Palestinian enclave.

The strike hit a five-story building in the northern city of Beit Lahia housing some 200 people, according to the Gaza government media office. Some 93 people were killed, another 40 people were missing and dozens injured, it added.

The nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of Gaza’s last functioning medical facilities, had no doctors to treat the wounded after a dayslong siege there by Israeli forces, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. “Critical cases without intervention will succumb to their destiny and die,” the ministry warned.

The deadly airstrikes came just hours after the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, passed a law banning UNRWA, the United Nations’ Palestinian aid agency, from operating inside Israel or having any contact with Israeli authorities. The move has raised fears of a spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where UNRWA is the main supplier of food, water, medicine and other essential supplies to the enclave’s 2 million residents.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini called the vote “unprecedented” and “nothing less than collective punishment” for the Palestinians after more than a year of “sheer hell.” The U.S. expressed deep concern over the legislation, which it said would outlaw an agency that “plays a critical, important role in delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians that need it in Gaza.”

The Israeli airstrike and UNRWA ban are the latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The assault on Gaza comes after a surge of violence in March 2022, prompting the Israeli government to declare a “state of emergency” and undertake a widespread crackdown on suspected militants.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Lebanon, the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah named a new leader – former deputy Sheikh Naim Kassem – after the killing of its powerful chief Hassan Nasrallah and his presumed successor.

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