Ukrainian officials said Russia dropped multiple bombs in an attack targeting a school where aid was being distributed to residents in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhya region, on November 2.
Russia hit a town in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region with at least 10 bombs in a “double-tap” strike on November 2, killing at least 31 people in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describedas “a vile, terrorist strike” that targeted a school where humanitarian aid was being distributed to residents.
Zelenskyy said the settlement of Komyshuvakha, which lies between the city of Zaporizhzhya and the front line in the southeastern region, had been hit by bombs several times since morning.
“After the first aerial bomb strike, there was a double-tap strike with nine more bombs, specifically targeting the shelter where people were taking cover,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X that included footage of smoking ruins. He said rescuers were continuing to search for people.
Four of the dead were police officers and two were rescue workers, the State Emergency Service said in a Telegram post. It said five people remain hospitalized.
The regional military head said on November 3 that nearly 50 people were still missing following the attack.
“The Russians could not have been unaware that every week, local residents who had remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid at that very location. And this is further proof that Russia wants no de-escalation and no real justice,” Zelenskyy said.
Israel causing immense suffering during flooding but UN tents not reaching the people and infrastructure is non-existent. Children dying exposed to many health threats.
Humanitarian Situation Report: Heavy Rains in the Gaza Strip | 8 November 2026
09 Nov 2026
A rescue team and other Palestinians next to what remains of a war-damaged building that collapsed when heavy rains hit Gaza city on 7 November 2026. Photo by OCHA
Key Highlights
Heavy rains hit the Gaza Strip from the evening of 6 November 2026 through the weekend, causing widespread flooding, the collapse of damaged buildings, damage to shelters, humanitarian facilities and learning spaces, and disruptions to essential services. An infant reportedly drowned and several people were reportedly killed when a sand dune collapsed on their tents.
Humanitarian partners mobilized immediately to assess people’s needs, distribute emergency supplies and otherwise support those affected. Nevertheless, humanitarian stocks of tents, tarpaulins, blankets and clothes inside Gaza are virtually exhausted.
By 8 November, humanitarian partners received appeals from over 26,000 households whose shelters or other belongings were damaged, with the overall impact believed to be greater. Partners have assessed the needs of 1,877 households, and provided support to 422 households, including with non-food items, at 29 displacement sites.
Over 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian partners and Member States are outside Gaza ready to be dispatched. This includes about 117,000 tents from the Egyptian Relief Committee alone in Al-Arish.
Humanitarian funding and Israeli approvals are urgently needed so that enough supplies and machinery can be brought into Gaza, including vacuum trucks, mobile dewatering pumps, engine oil, hoses and heavy machinery.
Overview
Heavy rain and strong winds hit the Gaza Strip from 6 November through the weekend, causing floods affecting thousands of people. It damaged displacement sites, shelters and humanitarian facilities, and disrupted services across all five governorates. Most Palestinians in Gaza remain displaced, and an estimated 65 per cent live in tents or makeshift shelters – that is 1.4 million people. Following the start of the storm, humanitarian partners reported being overwhelmed by the high number of appeals for support.
According to the Site Management Cluster (SMC), since the beginning of the heavy rain until midnight 7 November, about 268 weather-related alerts had been recorded affecting over 26,000 households. An estimated 600 households are thought to have been displaced once again due to the storm. According to SMC, over 6,000 family shelters have reportedly been destroyed and 17,400 otherwise damaged. Additionally, 66 latrines have reportedly been destroyed and 618 damaged. SMC reported that over 3,900 households are reported to have no shelters currently. Site Management partners report that more than 20,000 households across 222 sites, severely affected by the heavy rain, need shelter and non-food items support (tarpaulins, shelter repair materials, bedding, tents and clothing). Beyond that, 26 sites need latrine rehabilitation, 32 need drainage and engineering support, 37 need lighting support and 156 need sandbagging support, and more than 10,000 households report needing cash assistance. These figures are preliminary and are subject to assessments and verification.
Mine Action partners highlighted the potential risks associated with flooding, as explosive ordnance may become exposed, buried under surface or debris, or displaced to previously unaffected areas. This creates additional dangers for civilians and humanitarian personnel, including those involved in debris removal.
The floods exacerbated existing structural and environmental risks, including unsafe buildings and unstable sandy areas with at least 4,000 high-risk buildings identified by partners so far. Three partial or full building collapses were reported, with no casualties. An infant reportedly drowned at a displacement site. At Al Berka Reservoir, west of Deir Al Balah, a sandy hill collapsed onto tents, killing five displaced people, including three children and two women, and injuring one, according to Civil Defense who responded to the incidents.
The Civil Defense reported on 7 November that dozens of displacement sites, tents, and even entire residential areas, were flooded, with water levels reaching 1.5 metres in some locations. Its emergency rooms received 2,166 distress calls, including from families whose homes were already damaged by hostilities. Rescue teams, working with municipalities and others, were able to respond to 218 calls, but given the volume of the calls, most callers were only provided with guidance. The Civil Defense calls for the entry of winter rescue equipment, machinery, plastic sheeting, tents, and prefabricated mobile shelters for displaced people. The Gaza Municipality received 251 incident notifications and 84 distress calls on 6 and 7 November, covering rainwater pooling and rising water levels in streets and displacement sites. It cited major challenges, including extensive damage to stormwater drainage networks and infrastructure, a shortage of pumping equipment and heavy machinery, and difficult access to some sites.
According to the WASH Cluster, shortages of vacuum trucks, mobile dewatering pumps, engine oil and hoses continue to limit the WASH response capacity. At Sheikh Radwan Lagoon, heavy water inflows are overwhelming pumping capacity, while stormwater mixed with sewage from damaged networks poses public health risks.
According to the Education Cluster, heavy rain and flooding affected at least 55 learning spaces serving about 55,000 children. Twenty of the learning spaces were damaged, with learning activities suspended. At the other affected spaces, attendance has fallen significantly, to as low as 3 per cent. Poor light and power supply challenges add to the disruption. Moreover, seven service points addressing gender-based violence were destroyed due to the heavy rain. One partner reported 200 affected families across two sites for persons with disabilities. Families with disabilities, women and girls, and unaccompanied children face heightened risk.
Due to the heavy rain, on 7 November, at least eight community kitchens temporarily cut production by 50 per cent (about 25,000 fewer meals). On 8 November, production returned to normal, with maintenance and assessments continuing at some. A kitchen in Gaza city producing about 1,000 meals daily closed on 7 November because of disrupted power supply and difficulty lighting cooking fires; it resumed operations on 8 November. Flooding, waterlogging and damage to already fragile roads delayed meal deliveries and food stock dispatch to kitchens, and some locations were hard to reach, putting partner staff at risk. The weather also worsened the condition of a partner’s vehicles, that already faced shortages of engine oil and spare parts, so 7,250 planned meals could not be delivered to 10 shelters on 7 November; deliveries were back to normal on 8 November, and other delayed distributions were completed as conditions improved. Some partners’ warehouses were affected, and agricultural land rehabilitation through cash-for-work was suspended because workers could not reach the sites.
Health facilities also suffered leaks and flooding. UK-Med facilities and Nasser Medical Complex had water entering several departments, and the basement of Patient’s Friends Benevolent Society Hospital housing the pediatric department, pharmacy and radiology, flooded. Two clinics (An Nakheel and Al Yasmin) were damaged by flooding and wind, and two medical points (At Tuffah and Bir 19) lost tents and roofing. Services were also disrupted. One Health Cluster partner suspended all sexual and reproductive health services, fixed and mobile, and another suspended its mobile clinics. A third partner suspended its seven mobile teams for a day before resuming. Médecins du Monde recorded a 54 per cent drop in consultations, as flooded roads delayed staff movement. Partners report more cold exposure, weather-related illness and psychosocial distress, and expect higher caseloads once attendance recovers. Existing medicine shortages (antipyretics, antibiotics, antiemetics, antidiarrheals) are worsening. Surveillance is being strengthened for acute watery diarrhea, respiratory infections, skin infections and acute jaundice syndrome.
The humanitarian community had spent months preparing for the rainy season, knowing that living conditions in Gaza leave hundreds of thousands of people highly vulnerable to severe weather. Many people are living in worn-out tents and makeshift shelters that provide little protection from heavy rain and strong winds, including many in low-lying areas prone to flooding. Others remain in damaged buildings at risk of collapse. As part of the preparedness efforts, more than 150,000 tents, 300,000 tarpaulins and 500,000 blankets were outside Gaza ready for dispatch. However, humanitarian efforts to prepare were constrained by Israeli restrictions on the entry of supplies and equipment and funding shortfalls, limiting the stocks available inside Gaza when the rains began. Israeli restrictions on Palestinian access to large parts of Gaza also leave people with fewer options to voluntarily relocate to safer areas less prone to flooding.
As of 8 November 2026, humanitarian partners need – as a matter of urgent priority – more Israeli approvals to bring into Gaza critical supplies including shelter items, engine oil, spare parts, and heavy machinery, and more funding.
Site Management: Partners installed 50,000 sandbags to prevent displacement sites from being flooded; overall since September, they have installed more than 135,000 sandbags. Desludging of cesspits is under way by partners at displacement sites in Al-Mawasi (Khan Younis), with 30 per cent of the targeted sites completed. They also distributed winter clothes to 3,364 households, including 8,432 children, across 19 sites in Khan Younis and Deir Al Balah, and blankets to 896 households across six sites in Gaza city and North Gaza.
Debris Working Group: Partners used heavy machinery to support flooded shelter and displacement sites, responding to appeals from municipalities and partners. About 40 sites were reached on 7 November, and by 8 November the number of affected sites had grown to 200, with 30 sites supported by the UN, and 21 by bilateral committees. By 7 November, a bilateral committee had completed 18 emergency sand works at sites to improve ground conditions and reduce flood risk. Before the storm, debris partners had strengthened about 130 vulnerable sites through clearance, ground levelling, drainage improvements and access route stabilization, using over 100,000 tons of debris.
Health: A partner provided tarpaulins, clothes and one tent to 16 affected people, and another partner distributed tents and rain protection materials to 298 households and winter clothes to 2,100 people. A third partner mobilized emergency contractors and deployed backup vehicles so staff could reach all six primary health care centres, kept primary health care services running and delivered 849 consultations on 7 November. A fourth partner kept all 16 of its medical points and health centres open during the rains, and its mobile teams have resumed following a suspension due to the heavy rain.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Partners are dewatering affected sites. Coastal Municipalities Water Utility crews are operating 15 dewatering pumps to remove rainwater from tents and have provided municipalities with mobile pumping units and additional vacuum trucks. About 25,000 sandbags were allocated to reinforce sites and protect shelters. UN partners cleared solid waste from stormwater inlets and drainage canals, unblocked sewage lines and stormwater drains, and used suction trucks to remove accumulated water mixed with sewage in 58 shelters. A cluster partner deployed machinery to 20 sites and distributed hygiene kits, while others provided sand, sandbags and essential repair tools, and cleared sediment and debris from 10 critical locations and rehabilitated roads at four sites using crushed sand and gravel.
Protection: One partner provided tarpaulins, clothed and one tent to 16 families in Nuseirat (Deir al Balah). Teams assessed and responded to the needs of at least 350 families with persons with disabilities at an inclusive site in Az Zawaida (Deir Al Balah). One partner helped families voluntarily relocate away from the shoreline, and another began shelter and sanitation repairs at Hayat displacement site. A partner working with persons with disabilities reported 200 affected families across two camps, and 66 families in Az Zawaida received emergency shelter kits. Before the storm, partners managing shelters for vulnerable groups had reinforced tents, improved drainage, raised ground levels and distributed winter clothing. At a site for women with cancer in Gaza city (65 households), 57 new tents, additional tarpaulins and 1,409 winter clothing items were distributed.
Addressing Gender-Based Violence: Three partners distributed their remaining stocks of tarpaulins, clothing, and tents. One partner distributed 40 tents. Another distributed 764 dignity kits over two days across Gaza and Deir Al Balah governorate. A third provided tents to families in Deir Al Balah and Gaza city and assisted three beneficiaries in North Gaza. A UN agency and another partner delivered 1,200 menstrual hygiene management kits and 200 dignity kits to the Joint Response Mechanism. One partner opened an emergency safe space for women and girls at its office to keep mental health and psychosocial support and case management going, and the Jabalya safe space was repaired after wind damage and reopened.
** Double asterisks indicate that a figure, sentence, or section has been rectified, added, or retracted after the initial publication of this update.
Exclusive: Full text of the Mecca defence pact signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan
The agreement commits the three countries to mutual defence, military assistance, intelligence sharing and defence industry cooperation, barring withdrawal for the first 10 years
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud leave after a committee meeting of the Mecca defence pact in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 5 October 2026 (Turkish Foreign Ministry/handout via Reuters)
According to a report published on Sunday, two Syrian officials told AP that the Syrian government had already taken the decision to join the Makkah agreement but had not publicly disclosed the move.
However, a regional official said discussions on Syria’s potential inclusion in the defence arrangement were still ongoing.
“If Syria joins the Mecca Agreement, there will be a war between Israel and Turkey”
November 6th, 2026 16:07
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: Reuters, EPA
If Syria joins the Mecca Agreement, Israel’s war with Turkey will begin. This assumption was made on the Israeli TV channel Channel 12.
The main logic of the statement is as follows: if Syria joins the “Mecca Defense Alliance”, which includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, then Israeli strikes on Syria can be projected through the mechanism of collective defense on Turkey and even be considered as a declaration of war on Turkey.▼ читать продолжение новости ▼
Earlier, on October 31, 2026, the deputy head of the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that Syria was considering joining the Mecca Alliance.
US intelligence believes Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had relationship with Chinese spy: What we know
Story by Livemint
• 1d
US suspects Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had relationship with alleged Chinese spy
US intelligence officials believe Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang had a romantic relationship with a Chinese businesswoman suspected of working for Beijing’s main intelligence agency, according to a report by the Financial Times.
9th Nov 2026:
That is an area of concern to US officials who believe he has been involved with the alleged spy, Alice Huang, who is linked to a Singapore-based data center company, according to the New York Times.
Despite their shared surname, the pair are not related.
Who Is Alice Huang? Her Background And Megaspeed Career Alice Huang is a Chinese business executive who previously served as a managing director of Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based company that operates AI computing infrastructure.
Huang worked in China’s financial sector before becoming associated with the AI and semiconductor industries.
Her reported career includes positions at major Chinese banks and Shanghai-based Hexi Capital, an investment firm involved in semiconductor and artificial intelligence businesses.
An earlier professional biography also described Huang as a former television journalist in China. However, her reported employment in broadcasting has not been independently verified.
Huang later became associated with Megaspeed, a company that purchases advanced computing equipment and provides AI processing capacity through data centers.
Corporate records listed Huang as Megaspeed’s managing director during its first eight months of operation under the relevant business structure.
She also described herself publicly as the company’s chief executive. However, subsequent corporate filings no longer listed her as managing director.
By October 2026, Huang was no longer associated with Megaspeed, according to Jensen Huang’s public comments.
Her professional relationship with Nvidia developed through Megaspeed’s role as a customer of the US semiconductor manufacturer. Read more at: https://poptvculture.com/who-is-alice-huang/
Jensen Huang is a unique talent:
Huang’s early years
After emigrating from Taiwan at the age of five, Jen-Hsun Huang and his family spent four years in Thailand before a political crisis in the country forced his parents to send him and his older brother to live with their uncle in the United States.
Shortly after arriving, his uncle mistakenly enrolled the Huang brothers in a rural Kentucky institution that he believed was a prestigious American boarding school. It turned out to be a strict disciplinary and reform environment for troubled children, where young Jen-Hsun, who now went by Jensen, was assigned to clean bathrooms and scrub toilets.
He spent two years there, before his parents arrived and removed him. But he credits that time to instilling in him a strong work ethic.
“I was the only kid cleaning bathrooms, that was a lot of bathrooms,” he recalled in a 2022 interview on Stratechery. “I think that we learned hard work, but it never occurred to us that it was hard work, we just thought that’s what kids do.”
The family settled in Portland, Oregon, where Huang graduated high school at just 16. With a keen interest in computers, he enrolled at Oregon State University and graduated in 1984 with a degree in electrical engineering. While studying there, he met his future wife, Lori Mills, with whom he now has two children.
His first job out of college was at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), where he worked as a microprocessor designer for the semiconductor manufacturer. After a few years in the industry, he enrolled at Stanford University in California, where he earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering at the age of 29. Now in the heart of Silicon Valley, Huang and two fellow engineers had an idea that they believed could capitalise on the growing video games market. In a Denny’s restaurant in April 1993, Nvidia was born.
The rise of Nvidia
Along with Nvidia’s two other co-founders, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, Huang set about building specialised chips that could dramatically improve computer graphics. The company’s first major product was the NV1, a graphics card that launched in September 1995. Although technologically ambitious, it was ultimately unsuccessful due to its design approach being incompatible with the direction of the wider PC market.
The first commercial success came in 1997 with the RIVA 128, but it was not until 1999 that Nvidia made a big breakthrough with the GeForce 256, which it marketed as the world’s first GPU (graphics processing unit). The technology became a fundamental component of modern computers and helped usher in a new generation of video games.
It was in the early 2000s that Huang decided to pivot away from just a computer graphics company and decided to develop GPUs for general-purpose computing. The processor could be used for a huge variety of workloads, from weather modelling to medical research, but it was artificial intelligence that would turn Nvidia into a trillion-dollar company.
A decade before the arrival of ChatGPT, which kicked off the recent AI frenzy, Nvidia’s chips were being used by researchers to train neural networks and make breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. The increasingly powerful chips were at the forefront of pioneering developments in robotics, self-driving cars and data centres, making Nvidia perfectly placed for the next stage of the AI revolution.
Huang had not necessarily predicted the emergence of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, but the technology Nvidia had built made their development economically and technically possible.
Nvidia and the AI boom
Less than a year after the launch of ChatGPT, Nvidia’s market value crossed the $1 trillion mark. By 2025, it became the first publicly traded company to reach a market capitalisation of $4 trillion.
,Its rise has seen Huang’s personal fortune rise above $150 billion, ranking him in the top 10 of the world’s wealthiest people, while also placing him at the centre of geopolitics.
Before her marriage, Hegseth worked as a producer on short films and in television, first at WPIX and later at Fox News.[2][1] She spent much of her career producing Fox & Friends, the morning program her future husband Pete Hegseth began co-hosting in 2017.[3] When their relationship became public, she moved over to produce Watters’ World instead. Hegseth remained at Fox until 2024, eventually becoming a vice president at the network’s streaming service, Fox Nation.[4][5]
Hegseth’s visibility around her husband began before his confirmation, when she regularly accompanied him to meetings with senators on Capitol Hill. Senate staffers indicated that her presence altered the dynamic of conversations, particularly those touching on the sexual assault allegation against Hegseth, since some senators had hoped to question him on the matter privately.[7]
In March 2025, Hegseth was a guest of congressman Pete Stauber at the 2025 Donald Trump speech to a joint session of Congress.[8] Since her husband assumed his role as secretary of defense, Hegseth has served in an unofficial capacity as a frequent confidante and advisor. CNN reported in April 2025 that Hegseth had applied for a security clearance, though it remained unconfirmed whether one was ever granted. A spokesperson from the Pentagon has described her as an accomplished leader and a trusted adviser to her husband.[7][9]
Hegseth has joined at least one official bilateral meeting at the Pentagon, sitting in on a March 2025 discussion between Hegseth and the United Kingdom’s defense secretary John Healey.[10] Hegseth has played an influential role in managing her husband’s media strategy and has taken part in building out the Pentagon’s public affairs operation.[7]
Hegseth’s Wife Was Paid by Consulting Firm Whose Clients Include Lockheed Martin
Pete Hegseth is already being eyed for impeachment by the new Democratic majority in Congress.By Sharon Zhang , TruthoutPublished
November 5, 2026
Politicofirst reported on Jennifer Hegseth’s work in 2025 for top consulting firm Watchtower Strategy, which was uncovered in Pete Hegseth’s financial disclosure form for the year. The amount that she was paid is not disclosed, and it lists “consulting” as the explanation for the income. The disclosure also reports two other consulting gigs for Jennifer Hegseth, who has previously held Lockheed shares, as Military.com pointed out.
Watchtower was launched by former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy early last year and has become a major power player in D.C. In May 2025, Politico reported that the firm was doing “general consulting” work for Lockheed Martin.
Lockheed would not confirm whether or not it still works with Watchtower, and the consulting firm declined to say whether or not Jennifer Hegseth still consults with them. A spokesperson for Watchtower said that she had provided media consulting for them. Jennifer Hegseth was a longtime Fox News producer and is the daughter of a now-deceased Lockheed Martin executive.
“It should be no surprise that a public affairs firm would want to work with one of the biggest former star producers at Fox News, the nation’s preeminent conservative news outlet,” a Watchtower spokesperson said, per Politico. “Jen has assisted us in navigating conservative TV media and we appreciate her help. She has not interfaced with any clients nor does she provide any advice to Watchtower on defense matters.”
McCarthy launching public affairs firm with political allies
Former chairman Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) has launched a public affairs company with some political allies after departure from Congress.
Watch tower strategies are a “full -service public relations company” specializing in strategies, advocacy, and strategic communication. The group said in the release Tuesday.
McCarsie join Former White House Communication Assistant Cliffsims. Arthur Schwartz is the ally of Vence President Vans. Gop Allies Jeff Miller, Dan Conston, Brian O. Walsh.
“The launch of the Watch Tower Strategy will come to an extremely promising moment for Japan,” McCarthy said in a statement. “Navigating at this moment is both, and it can be both opportunities and challenges.”
“The Watch Tower team is trusted, tested, and built for success,” he continued.
McCarthy left Congress in late 2023 after being expelled from a far -right conservative lecture. He was in conflict with his conservatives on his party, and he has been working in the media since he left the house.
The group said he would be the chairman of the company.
CEO, a group, said in a release that they provided a “sound counsel” and was engaged in some of the biggest battles in Washington.
The group has argued that their companies can provide CEOs and executives with their own experience in future policies and reform discussions.
“The leadership of the tower strategy is knowing how to accomplish things after decades at the highest level of politics and the government.” “The company is built to support the client to navigate Washington’s toughest tough tasks. The highest managers have formed policy results, managed the crisis of high stakes, and complicated decisions. Regardless of whether to guide. “
Where is the evidence? If none can be found, charges cannot be pressed.
Top prosecutor Jason Reding Quiñones, tapped for Russiagate conspiracy probe, quits DOJ
Story by Josh Christenson
• 1d
New York Post
Top prosecutor Jason Reding Quiñones, tapped for Russiagate ‘conspiracy’ probe, quits DOJ
on 4 areas, and they include the Trump family’s lucrative
WASHINGTON — Two top federal prosecutors resigned Friday, marking a broader shake-up at the Department of Justice in the wake of Republicans’ drubbing in the 2026 midterm elections.
Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith testifies before the House Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
POLITICS
Judge blocks release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Trump classified documents case
BY Associated Press Washington, D.C.
UPDATED 3:50 PM ET Feb. 23, 2026
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the release of a report by special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents, a prosecution that was once seen as the most perilous of the four criminal cases the Republican faced.
What You Need To Know
A federal judge has permanently barred the release of a report by special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, granted a request from the Republican president to keep under wraps the report detailing Smith’s findings in the probe that resulted in criminal charges in 2023 Cannon dismissed the case in 2024 after concluding that Smith was unlawfully appointed She said the release of the report would present a “manifest injustice” to Trump and his two co-defendants
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, granted a request from the president to keep under wraps the report on an investigation alleging that Trump stored sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left the White House following his first term and that he obstructed government efforts to get them back.
Smith and his team produced a two-volume report on the classified documents investigation and a separate probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Both investigations produced indictments that were abandoned by Smith’s team after Trump’s November 2024 election win in light of longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that say sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.
Attorney General Pam Bondi had already determined that the report was “an internal deliberative communication that is privileged and confidential and should not be released” outside the Justice Department, according to court papers. The Trump administration has characterized Smith’s investigation as politically motivated and said in recent court papers that the report belongs in the “dustbin of history.”
Cannon’s order blocking the release also applies to Bondi’s successors at the Justice Department. Cannon, who in 2024 dismissed the case after concluding that Smith was unlawfully appointed after multiple other favorable rulings for Trump, said the release of the report would present a “manifest injustice” to the president and his two co-defendants.
“Special Counsel Smith, acting without lawful authority, obtained an indictment in this action and initiated proceedings that resulted in a final order of dismissal of all charges,” she wrote. “As a result, the former defendants in this case, like any other defendant in this situation, still enjoy the presumption of innocence held sacrosanct in our constitutional order.”
A First Amendment group and a watchdog organization have been pressing for the report’s release.
Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said it “will continue using every tool available to force this information into the open and to defend the public’s right to the truth through the release of this report.”
Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University — another group pushing for the report’s public release — said “there is no legitimate basis for its continued suppression.”
“Judge Cannon’s decision to permanently block the release of this extraordinarily significant report is impossible to square with the First Amendment and the common law,” Wilkens said in an emailed statement.
A lawyer for Trump, Kendra Wharton, praised Cannon’s ruling, saying in a statement that Smith was unconstitutionally appointed and that his report “should never see the light of day.”
Cannon wrote that though it is true that special counsels have historically released reports at the conclusion of their work, they have done so either after electing not to bring charges in a particular case or “after adjudications of guilt by plea or trial.” Though Cannon suggested that an adjudication of guilt typically precedes the release of a special counsel report, there have been instances in which defendants charged by a special counsel have been acquitted at trial and the allegations against them have nonetheless been subsequently rehashed in a publicly released report.
The classified documents case was once considered the most serious of the four criminal cases against him. It accused Trump of repeatedly enlisting aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showing off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map.
The first volume of Smith’s report on Trump’s 2020 election interference case was released last year shortly before Trump returned to the White House. Smith has defended his decision to bring those charges, saying he believes they would have resulted in a conviction had voters not elected Trump in 2024.
Cannon last year granted a defense request to at least temporarily halt the release of the report dealing with the classified documents case. That edict meant that Smith could not discuss the substance of that investigation when he testified last month before the House Judiciary Committee.
Orbits are getting dangerously crowded and collision risks increase rapidly. To have a future in space at all, we must stop adding space debris while we start cleaning up what’s already there.
ESA’s ambitious Zero Debris approach aims to stop creating new debris by 2030, with stringent standards and policies for its future missions that help stimulate technology development.
Clean space technologies go beyond debris prevention. The Ecostars missions demonstrate ecodesign technologies in space to prevent negative impacts on the Earth environment.
The end-goal of sustainable spaceflight is creating a true Circular Economy in space. Satellites should no longer be single-use, discarded after running low on fuel, a failure or outdated equipment. In-orbit services are the way forward.
First-of-its-kind national mission to clear up space junk orbiting earth which threatens key services from GPS to weather forecasts – keeping Brits safe and boosting growth.
Government backs new spacecraft with more than £60m to remove two defunct satellites from orbit by 2032.
Builds on UK strengths in the repair, refuelling and removal of satellites – predicted to grow into billion dollar industry.
Britain is taking on space junk with a world-first mission that will use giant robotic claws to grab dead satellites threatening the GPS, weather forecasts and communications we rely on every day.
Hazardous old satellites and their remnants threaten the thousands of active satellites which underpin national security and everyday services. Hundreds of thousands of tracked debris objects – travelling at speeds exceeding 17,000 miles an hour – are large enough to damage vital space infrastructure, with swift action now needed to tackle the problem.
The UK’s Active Debris Removal mission (UK ADR) is a world-first – being launched to remove two satellites and releasing them lower into our atmosphere where they will naturally burn up. The mission marks the first time a spacecraft has disposed of more than one satellite in this way.
The refuellable spacecraft will be designed with future-use in mind, so that it can help make a difference and sweep space for years to come.
The spacecraft will launch in 2029 from Saxavord Spaceport in Scotland, which recently received £30m Government funding to ensure the UK’s sovereign launch capability.
A competition will also begin today to name the UK ADR spacecraft, welcoming submissions from the public.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd said:
Space junk and debris pose an immense and growing challenge but with our homegrown expertise, the UK is determined to lead the global effort to clean up space.
By backing this world first mission, we will protect the satellites that underpin modern life from keeping us connected with loved ones and delivering accurate weather forecasts to keeping our country safe.
This is our Space Strategy in action: giving British firms the support and clear direction they need to turn bold ideas into cutting-edge innovation, strengthen our world-class satellite sector and drive economic growth across the country.
UK ADR is part of the nascent In-orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) sector, predicted to grow into a billion-dollar industry within the next decade. Currently, satellites are single use. When they run out of fuel or suffer a fault, they are discarded. Developing the technology to repair, refuel and protect our orbital assets – and take advantage of the unique conditions in space to make useful products – is now a priority for the UK under the recently published Space Strategy.
UK ADR develops key technologies which will support this, building on Britain’s strong early foothold in the market. Protecting the space environment is critical for the future of the UK’s flourishing space sector more broadly; worth £18.6 billion, and supporting over 55,000 skilled jobs.
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is working with ClearSpace UK as its industry delivery partner, building domestic expertise in spacecraft servicing and robotic capture. It will strengthen British supply chains and investment from Southampton to Newcastle, and marks the first time a company has been asked to deliver a significant new national capability.
ISAM was one of the 4 priority areas identified by the Government’s recently launched National Space Strategy, which combines UK’s plans for growth, defence, and national security to reindustrialise the country over the coming years.
Dr Alice Bunn, Co-Director UK Space Agency, said:
This mission is about much more than removing debris. It is about developing the capabilities that will enable future servicing, assembly and manufacturing in orbit.
The technologies being developed through ADR will help establish the UK’s position at the forefront of a new generation of space services while supporting a sustainable future for activities in space.
Rob Atchison, Managing Director of ClearSpace UK, said:
UK ADR will be delivered here in the UK. Our team brings together engineers and specialists from across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as allies and partners, and as the programme progresses we will create more highly specialised roles in rendezvous and proximity operations, guidance, navigation and control, robotics, spacecraft systems and mission operations.
Our next step is to design, build and test a spacecraft that can get close, safely, to an object never designed to be caught, and take control of it. We will do that with partners across the UK supply chain, working towards operations in 2029.
A Starlink satellite unexpectedly broke up on March 29, 2026, while in orbit about 350 miles (560 km) above Earth. The satellite – numbered 34343 – had been in orbit for less than a year. It launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on May 27, 2025.
LeoLabs, a company that uses global radar to track satellites and space debris in low-Earth orbit, detected what it called:
… tens of objects in the vicinity of the satellite after the event.
Some debris from the Starlink breakup should fall back to Earth over the next few weeks. But large, remaining pieces would not return for a few years yet.
SpaceX said it is investigating the cause of the so-called rapid unscheduled disassembly (RUD). It also claimed:
Melania Trump meets with Russian and Ukrainian representatives at the White House
November 5, 2026, 4:45 pm
Source: Meduza
U.S. first lady Melania Trump met with representatives of Russia and Ukraine at the White House.
Ombudsman Yana Lantratova and presidential special envoy Kirill Dmitriev represented Russia at the meeting. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and Davyd Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada, represented Ukraine.
Officials announced the meeting after a humanitarian operation in Oleshky, in the Kherson region, during which Lantratova and Lubinets helped evacuate several hundred people. Both sides said Melania Trump played the key mediating role in organizing the mission.
A temporary ceasefire was declared for the duration of the humanitarian operation and held for several days, marking the first such pause since the full-scale war in Ukraine began.
Member of the State Duma of Russia who voted in favour of Federal Law No. 75577-8 “On the ratification of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Luhansk People’s Republic” and/or Federal Law No. 75578-8 “On the ratification of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Donetsk People’s Republic”. In so doing, the member endorsed President Putin’s decision to recognise the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic as independent states, thereby providing support for policies and/or actions which destabilise Ukraine and/or undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine. The trust services sanctions were imposed on 21/03/2023.
Yana Lantratova, suspected in Ukraine of involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children from the occupied Kherson region, has become the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, according to the decision by the State Duma on May 14, 2026.
Russia is using Ukraine’s children to win its occupation – and the wider war
Published: October 5, 2026 3.27pm BST
A year or so after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the city of Murmansk in Russia’s Arctic north-west marked its annual regional day with a celebration for children. Alongside the sons and daughters of Russian soldiers stood children taken from the occupied Prymorskyi district of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukraine’s authorities have verified 20,651 cases of children deported or forcibly displaced to Russia and Belarus since 2022. Some estimates, including figures shared by Russian officials themselves, run as high as 744,000. As of September 2026, just 2,644 Ukrainian children have been returned.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, and his children’s commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, in March 2023 for their roles in this campaign.
But the Where Are Our People? project, which I work alongside, has identified at least 47 Russian and Belarusian individuals directly involved in the deportations. These people range from regional governors to business executives. Only some of them are under western sanctions.
Born on 25 October 1984, Commissioner for Children’s Rights
in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation.
Accused LastName
Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova
Accused FirstName
Maria
Charges
Allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Ms Lvova-Belova bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute).
Inessa hugs her son Vitaly after the bus delivering him and more than a dozen other children back from Russian-held territory arrived in Kyiv on March 22, 2023. Photo: SERGEI CHUZAVKOV / AFP via Getty Images
US unveils sanctions on ICC in move court condemns as ‘assault on rule of law’
Image caption,The ICC said it would not be “deterred” by the sanctions
By Tom Bateman, State department correspondent, Anna Holligan, Reporting from in The Hague, and Florence Freeman
Published9 October 2026
The Trump administration has unveiled sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a significant acceleration of its attempt to “dismantle” what it sees as a “rogue” institution.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measures – which include a ban on US entities making transactions with the ICC – were intended to “defend US sovereignty” and accused the court of seeking to prosecute Americans.
The ICC said the measures were an assault on the rule of law and the foundations of the international legal order.
The announcement came just hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
The US has already sanctioned 17 of the ICC’s judges and officials, but this move sanctions the court itself as an institution and is intended to collapse its ability to operate financially.
However, the US has provided a six month grace period before some of these latest sanctions kick in, meaning member states can keep paying for its operations – a move Washington says is to allow countries time to negotiate a “solution to address” US concerns.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the US decision “a serious blow to our collective pursuit of international criminal justice, of which the ICC is a key pillar”.
But White House spokesperson Steven Cheung called him a “Trump OG” in a post on X.
“There is no bigger advocate for the Trump agenda than Stephen, and he will help the Administration deliver on monumental victories for the rest of this historic second term,” he said.
An adviser to the president since his first term, Miller has garnered a reputation as a fierce political operator willing to push the boundaries of the law to enact Trump’s sweeping agenda.
He was a driving force behind the White House’s aggressive immigration policy, including the administration’s deadly enforcement surge into American cities that saw federal agents kill two US citizens in Minnesota early this year.
Miller has also been a driving force behind efforts at the White House to crack down on what the Trump administration has framed as left-wing political extremism. He was a chief architect behind a presidential national security memo known as NSPM-7, which laid out the groundwork to designate left-leaning groups as domestic terrorists.
Source: Huffington Post 7 Nov 2026
Some background to Katie Miller:
Katie’s career spans from her first role as press assistant to the National Republican Senatorial Committee to press secretary for the former U.S. Senator from Montana Steve Daines, according to her LinkedIn.
She was deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, affiliating herself with controversial DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who implemented Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy and family separation at the border. Katie then became communications director for the former U.S. Senator from Arizona Martha McSally.
Katie began her role as press secretary for Pence in the fall of 2019, before transitioning to communications director the following year — a position that she held until 2021, after falling out with Pence over disagreements, per an X post.
In December 2024, Katie was one of the first advisers named to Trump’s Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In a statement to The New York Times, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt praised her role in the initiative, saying that Katie was “a critical reason DOGE was able to get off the ground.”
She held the position with DOGE until May 2025, when she left the advisory position to work full-time in the private sector for Musk — who left DOGE around the same time — CNN reported.
They met through work and mutual friends
………..
Stephen and Katie were introduced when they were both working at the White House in the spring of 2018; Stephen was Trump’s senior policy adviser and Katie was press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.
At the time, ICE and DHS were working on a “zero tolerance” policy at the border — leading to widespread family separation — and Stephen and Katie often spoke over the phone about their work, but never met in person, per The New York Times.
One former DHS official told Vanity Fair in August 2020 that Stephen often tried to get involved in communications with DHS, and “He had this thing about calling everyone and trying to get the answer he wanted,” which is how he reportedly met Katie.
“It was very on brand, the relationship,” Stephen told Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law, on Fox News in May 2025. “We were on conference calls every day on border security.”
They later met in person through mutual friends in the spring of 2018, per The New York Times, and were engaged just over a year later in the fall of 2019.
They married in 2020 at a Trump hotel in Washington, D.C.
The Democratic perspective on this choice of Stephen Miller to Chief of Staff:
“In a way, the president did a great favor to Democrats, as now they know there is little value to extending an olive branch to the White House next January,” he said. “If Trump wants to pass things, this is a terrible choice. If he wants to engage in combat with Congress, then Stephen Miller fits the bill.”
Republican strategist Matt Klink told Newsweek the choice reveals that Trump “plans to fight.”
Melania Was Reportedly Upset Her Friends Got Deported, and Turned Trump Against Miller
The First Lady complained her friends were being caught in the administration’s deportation dragnet, leading Trump to say Stephen Miller was going “too far.”
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