Day: October 18, 2026

HIGH briefing: africa

This batch is dominated by Russia-Ukraine drone-war reporting, with one Ethiopian state media item. Ethiopian News Agency announced a forthcoming Tigrinya-language session by PM Abiy Ahmed but provided no content. Separately, OSINT channels report a large

A legal scholar who trained in the US, Yousef Jabareen is head of the Joint List, one of two formal groupings of Arab-Israeli parties standing on Oct 27.

The 54-year-old could well hold Israel’s future in his hands, despite hailing from a community which, in his view, has never been so marginalised by the state.

Read Jabareen’s interview with The Telegraph’s to understand the stakes he could hold ⬇️
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2…

Given Ukraine’s deep strikes against Russian territory, the military escalation Putin is likely to order will primarily be concentrated at the conventional and hybrid warfare levels, rather than immediately crossing the nuclear threshold. Based on current analyses and statements

Given Ukraine’s deep strikes against Russian territory, the military escalation Putin is likely to order will primarily be concentrated at the conventional and hybrid warfare levels, rather than immediately crossing the nuclear threshold. Based on current analyses and statements

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expresses concern over reports of an attack on a journalist in the West Bank, urging Israel to crack down on violence and prevent further escalation.
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#Patrushev
Context of the 2026  #Espionage Scandal
Following his retirement from public service in 2009,  #Hanning entered the private sector and oversaw the Russia division for the British corporate intelligence firm G3, while also chairing other consultancies. [1, 2, 3]
German prosecutors suspect that financial pressure—specifically a €4 million debt liability stemming from the 2019 collapse of the Latvian lender PNB Banka—may have driven Hanning to monetize his access to classified materials. While security circles indicate that Russia may not have been the direct recipient of the 2026 leaked files, Hanning’s persistent relationship with Patrushev and other Kremlin-linked figures (like former Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin) continues to be a central focal point for intelligence agencies assessing the full extent of the security breach. [1, 2]
Hanning and Patrushev – Google Search  google.com/search?q=Hanning+…

— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Oct 18, 2026

Hiding behind the pineapples might not be such a bad idea if someone’s shooting at you

Personally, I’d prefer a concrete wall though

Writer: Ian
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These are the indicative estimates of Russia’s combat losses as of Oct. 18, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.