
The diesel agreement contrasts with recent US sanctions aimed at curbing Russia's energy revenues.
AI-generated summary
Russia and Ukraine have been in a state of full-scale war for over 4.5 years. The US recently signed sanctions legislation intended to restrict Russian oil and gas revenues.
Russian strikes killed at least 15 people in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday, a day after US President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel that Kyiv warned would help bankroll Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Three children were among those killed when Russian aerial bombs hit residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Saturday. At least 16 people were wounded in the attack.
Russia and Ukraine are locked in a long-range aerial war while their armies remain largely deadlocked on the front line, more than 4½ years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine is struggling to counter escalating Russian bombardments that have killed more than 60 people over the past four days.
Trump said on Friday he had struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of US pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections.

Chinese scholars recently claimed that the Batanes Islands in the Philippines belong to Chinese territory, triggering a strong rebuttal from the Philippines. Because the Batanes Islands are close to Taiwan and overlook the Bashi Channel, they are regarded as a key strategic location for the United States to defend Taiwan. This move has been analyzed as Beijing's "grey zone" strategy to expand its influence in the Pacific.

The Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank and Japan's National Institute for Basic Issues will host the "2026 Taiwan-Japan Science and Technology Future Forum" tomorrow to discuss supply chain resilience and defense cooperation. Chairman Ryoko Sakurai emphasized that in the face of China's expansion, people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and Japan will be closer, while former Self-Defense Force Commander Kiyofumi Iwata called for deepening the connection between the semiconductor and defense industries.

The Thailand Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported that 21 provinces across the country and Bangkok are still affected by floods, affecting more than 3.15 million people. Prime Minister Anutin called for speeding up post-disaster recovery and focusing on preventing secondary disasters caused by a new round of heavy rainfall in the southern region.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a National Day reception at the Taipei Hotel. President Lai Ching-te accompanied King Swatini III of Eswatini to attend. The scene was jointly performed by Jiutian Folk Arts Troupe and Ataya Dance Workshop, demonstrating Taiwan's multicultural soft power, and the two heads of state interacted enthusiastically.

Hamami, a 29-year-old Omani co-pilot of Dubai Airlines, attempted to attack the captain with an ax while flying FZ1073 flight on September 30 and crashed into Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. The crew counterattacked and subdued him in time, and the passenger plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The suspect was subsequently handed over to the United Arab Emirates authorities.

On October 9, local time, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred in Panama. Many overseas Chinese who have experienced the earthquake said that there have been no reports of casualties among overseas Chinese. Chinese associations are reporting safety to each other through WeChat and other methods, and reminding compatriots to guard against aftershocks.