"Russia has agreed to stop recruiting Ghanaian citizens to send them to fight in the war against Ukraine. Ghanaian Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stated this. According to him Putin allegedly promised Ghanaian President John Mahama that Russia would no longer allow Ghanaian citizens to participate in the war against Ukraine.
“Ghanaians will no longer be allowed to participate in the war, whether through irregular recruitment or as volunteers,” Ablakwa said." UN
"The Ukrainian Navy destroyed six Russian aircraft and ten multiple launch rocket systems." Ukrin
"Russian missiles struck 650 settlements in the Zhytomyr Region, leaving them without power. Vitalii Bunechko, head of the Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration, stated that efforts to restore power are ongoing and that the number of people affected has not yet been determined.
In Vinnytsia, damage was also reported to a cell tower and several residential buildings; no casualties have been reported." UN
"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey if Ankara can organize such a meeting, the Ukrainian leader said in an interview with CNN Turk on Nov. 1. "This war must end. We must unite, we must at least move the hot phase of this war into a diplomatic phase," said Zelensky." UN
"Comparing Tusk to Zelensky since the former's attempted judicial coup, which aims to shape the post-war European order by preventing a future conservative-led coalition from stopping the EU's transforming into a German-dominated federation, is similar to Zelensky's from 2020. As a reminder, Zelensky suspended the Constitutional Court's chair during that year's political crisis sparked by their ruling on anti-corruption reforms, which readers can learn more about here.
The aforesaid crisis stretched into the large-scale phase of the Ukrainian Conflict that broke out in 2022, thus resulting in legally contentious laws that were promulgated on the pretext of wartime needs, which prolonged some justices' terms after they expire. After the expiry of Zelensky's own term in May 2024, Medvedev declared that "He spat on the Constitution of his 'country,' ignored the Constitutional Court, and did not even extend, but usurped the supreme power."
The similarity between Zelensky's earlier successful judicial coup and Tusk's attempted one is that both leaders suspended the heads of their respective constitutional courts (technically the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland's case) amidst a highly sensitive dispute in order to centralize their own power. In Poland's case, the aforesaid dispute is over the prior conservative government allegedly stacking the Tribunal, which the ruling liberals blame for them tending to prioritize Polish law over EU law.
Unlike Zelensky, Tusk probably won't manipulate political-legal processes in a bid to remain in power indefinitely regardless of however fall 2027's next Sejm elections turn out, but what he's attempting is much more insidious since it's about subordinating Poland to the German-led EU. It's for this reason why many patriotic Poles are accusing him of treason and demand that he be brought to justice for his attempted coup or at least resign in disgrace and then go into exile to his beloved Germany.
The only realistic way out of Poland's worst crisis since communism is to hold the early elections that reputable polling before Tusk's attempted coup suggested would return the conservatives to power in a coalition with their newly breakaway faction and the two libertarian-nationalist parties. After what just happened, which united the aforesaid fractured right-wing forces and led to most Poles rallying around Nawrocki as led the resistance to the coup from the front, they'd probably achieve a landslide victory.
The geopolitical fate of the post-war European order will be decided by the resolution of this crisis. Either Tusk wins, he subjugates Poland to Germany, and then the EU completes its transformation into a German-dominated federation, or the rule of law wins, Poland leads the EU's reform into a union of nation-states like Nawrocki declared late last year that he's dedicated to doing, and Poland resumes its historical role as a regional power. The stakes couldn't be higher for both Poland and Europe as a whole." ZH
"Ukrainian defense company Fire Point has confirmed a strike on the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in the town of Kstovo in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast." NV
"For the third Saturday in a row, Paris looked like a city under lockdown. More than 40 metro and RER stations were closed, and shopkeepers along the route boarded up their windows with plywood or kept their shutters down.
France's seats of power, including the Élysée Palace, the prime minister's office, and the National Assembly, were heavily guarded.
Some 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed nationwide, and Nuñez said 40,000 checks had been carried out on roads and in train stations, 15,000 of them in the Paris region, to intercept weapons. Face coverings, Halloween masks included, were banned around the demonstrations.
By 9 p.m., 565 people had been arrested nationwide.At an evening press conference, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said every march had contained groups of rioters and looters, "many of them driven by the ultra-left and the radical far left," who attacked police with the goal of reaching the city centers "with unheard-of violence."
He listed Paris, Montpellier, Toulouse, Rennes, Marseille, Nantes, Angers, and Tours as cities where groups of several hundred people had tried to break through police lines with mortar fireworks, paving stones, and other projectiles, and said firefighters had to put out numerous fires.
The most serious incident took place at the end of the Paris march near Porte de Charenton, where a Molotov cocktail landed on the shield of a mobile gendarmerie unit and set a gendarme alight before his colleagues put out the flames. He ended up being slightly injured, Nuñez said.
another crisis appears to be unfolding in Germany on Halloween night: looting and chaos.
An initiative called "Gen Z regelt" ("Gen Z's got this") organized these protests "for education, health, climate protection and an affordable life" and opposing the return of military conscription.
Some protests in Germany also turned violent on Saturday night.
"The looting of stores has started in Frankfurt, Germany. Young first and second-generation migrants are attacking stores in the city," Poland-based digital news outlet Visegrád 24 wrote on X."German police were attacked with a Molotov cocktail in the city of Frankfurt on Halloween night. Youths participated in looting and clashes with police, with much of the footage livestreamed on TikTok," Budapest-based news outlet Remix News & Views wrote on X.
In Portugal, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Lisbon once again.
In The Hague, Netherlands, protests broke out after calls to demonstrate circulated online. According to Dutch police, 34 people were arrested, and one officer was taken to hospital with suspected hearing damage after fireworks were thrown at police. As in Paris, many shops across the city had boarded up their windows amid fears of rioting.
On Oct. 30, large crowds took to the streets across Italy following a call to demonstrate by the Italian trade union USB. The union estimated that more than 1 million people participated in protests across 70 cities, while the Interior Ministry put the figure at 255,000. Violent clashes between demonstrators and police broke out in Rome, Turin, Mestre, Vicenza, and other cities, according to Corriere della Sera.
Europe's mounting crises point to a troubling deterioration in stability." ZeroHedge
"The number of people injured in a Russian attack on the Koziatyn community in the Vinnytsia region has risen to six, while two people were killed." Ukrin
"A very strong magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred in the Coral Sea 95 km (59 mi) from Vanuatu late in the evening at 10.47 pm local time (GMT +11). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow. The quake was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD
"A strong magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred in the Coral Sea 121 km (75 mi) from Vanuatu in the afternoon at 5.26 pm local time (GMT +11). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow. The quake was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD
"A total of 205 combat engagements between Ukraine's Defense Forces and Russian invaders were recorded along the front line.
On the North Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk axes, Russian forces launched one assault, carried out two strikes using six guided aerial bombs and conducted 118 attacks.
On the South Slobozhanshchyna axis, Ukrainian units repelled eight attacks toward Ternova, Karaichne, Zakharivka and Kolodiazne, as well as near Ustynivka and Okhrimivka.On the Kupiansk axis, Russian forces launched three assaults, attacking toward Radkivka and Kupiansk.
On the Lyman axis, Russian troops launched ten attacks toward Stepove and Zelena Dolyna and near Zarichne.
On the Sloviansk axis, the enemy launched three attacks toward Mykolaivka and Orikhuvatka and near Yurkivka.
On the Kramatorsk axis, Russian forces conducted no assault operations.
On the Kostiantynivka axis, Russian forces launched 20 attacks. The invaders conducted offensive operations near Kostiantynivka and toward Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, Mykolaipillia, Osykove, Raiske, Pavlivka and Novopavlivka.
The Russian army launched 31 attacks on the Pokrovsk axis, attempting to advance near Sofiivka, Vilne, Svitle, Vodianske, Vasylivka, Molodetske and Udachne, and toward Dobropillia, Novohryhorivka, Myrne, Serhiivka and Novopavlivka.
On the Huliaipole axis, the invaders launched seven attacks, attempting to advance toward Yehorivka, Kopani, Hіrке and Nove Zaporizhzhia, and near Dobropillia.
On the Orikhiv axis, Russian forces launched an attack toward Lukianivske." Ukrin
"Ukraine's air defense forces neutralized 124 of the 168 drones and missiles used by Russian forces to attack Ukraine. Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 168 strike UAVs (51 of them jet-powered), Gerbera drones and other types of UAVs, as well as S8000 Banderol/Dan-T missiles." Ukrin
"Three employees were injured when Russian forces launched a massive attack on coal-mining facilities belonging to DTEK Energo in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The attack caused severe damage to industrial buildings at the facilities.
All three employees injured in the attack have received medical treatment. DTEK said their condition is stable." Ukrin
"Could this be the actual breakthrough coming after many months of prior claimed negotiation 'breakthroughs' and false starts?
Just when the prospect of even getting back to the negotiating table seemed as remote as ever, Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed is reporting that planned direct talks are back on.Regional sources are indeed calling this a "breakthrough" in hitherto indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran, with an American delegation soon expected to join Iranian officials for direct talks in Doha.
Al Arabiya English says it has obtained ey points from the preliminary draft framework for restarting US-Iran negotiations and has published the following list:
Iran could transfer its highly enriched uranium stockpile to an agreed third country or reduce its enrichment level.
The Strait of Hormuz could reopen to international maritime traffic within seven days of an initial understanding.
China could potentially serve as a guarantor of the implementation and sustainability of any agreement.
Direct US-Iran negotiations could be held in Doha instead of Istanbul.
Iranian measures on the nuclear file and maritime security would be matched by clearly defined US measures to ease sanctions, blockades and economic restrictions.
An independent verification mechanism would assess compliance before each subsequent phase of implementation.
Neither side would be required to make substantial concessions without receiving corresponding, independently verifiable commitments.
A dispute-resolution mechanism involving mediators and guarantor parties would address delays or violations to help prevent renewed military escalation." ZeroHedge
"A strong magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit 52 km (32 mi) away from Bandar-e Deyr, Bushehr, Iran, in the early morning at 12.50 am local time (Asia/Tehran GMT +3:30). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow. The quake was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD