Timelines
How the main stories unfold, day after day: each timeline gathers the articles about one event, with a summary.
- Texas landowners fight Trump's border wall in Big Bend, where a judge temporarily halted construction
A federal court in Texas issued a ruling on Friday 2 October temporarily blocking the Trump administration from building a border wall and other infrastructure across the state's Big Bend region, citing the likelihood of 'irreparable harm' and the 'public interest', according to PBS NewsHour and Fortune. The LA Times called it a major win for landowners, businesses and environmentalists in the region who have united to oppose the planned infrastructure projects, and Fortune noted that it came just weeks after the administration erected the first border wall panels in the Big Bend sector in mid-September. On 9 October, ABC News and The Philadelphia Inquirer reported how Texas landowners are fighting back as the administration pushes forward with a $46 billion border wall from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, and Fortune reported that they are suing, protesting and refusing to give up land in Big Bend, forcing the Justice Department toward eminent-domain fights.
- Russian strikes kill 2 in Ukraine as Kyiv struggles to counter escalating attacks
Russian strikes killed two people and wounded five more across Ukraine, officials said on Friday 9 October. Ukraine is struggling to counter escalating Russian bombardments that have killed more than 50 people over the past three days, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News.
- Saudi authorities say three killed in Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport
Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed two attacks on Saudi airports, then a new attack on Thursday 8 October against the airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where a witness reported explosions, including a blast at the international airport, and an evacuation. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation reported that three Saudi citizens were killed and several other people wounded in two attacks on Riyadh airport on Thursday, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News report.
- UK's Labour wins a London special election, defeating the Green Party's leader
Britain's Labour Party has won a special election in London, defeating the Green Party's leader, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News report. The result puts the Green Party leader under pressure.
- New US indictment charges former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife with torture
A new U.S. indictment charges former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores with torture and other crimes: already charged with participating in a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S., they now also face allegations of human rights abuses during his time as president, PBS NewsHour reported. According to CBS News, the couple were already facing charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. The day before, CBS News had reported that Maduro was expected to face new charges of torture of Americans in Venezuelan prisons, while his attorney said he had not been given notice that additional charges could be coming. Maduro's wife was also set to be back in court on Thursday 8 October, where her lawyers would urge a judge to free her from jail and put her under house arrest because she has heart problems.
- Death of Maricarmen, 87, whose eviction sparked Spain's housing protests, is reenergizing the movement
The eviction of María del Carmen Abascal, 87, from her Madrid home sparked protests across Spain, with protesters demanding government help for renters; her case drew tens of thousands of people to the streets and led the prime minister to call for early elections after failing to pass measures to address the country's housing crisis, according to the Los Angeles Times. Maricarmen, who had spent most of her life in the apartment her family had rented decades before in downtown Madrid, died in hospital, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed condolences. Her death is reenergizing Spain's protests to stop evictions.
- Majority of people in Myanmar are living in poverty or at risk, UN report says
A majority of people in Myanmar are living in poverty or at risk of it, according to a United Nations report. More than two-thirds of the population is either living in poverty or at risk of falling into it, the report says.
- Myanmar's military-backed leader Min Aung Hlaing visits Malaysia, seeking closer ties as he pivots to diplomacy
The leader of Myanmar's military-backed government, Min Aung Hlaing, has traveled to Malaysia for talks with its leaders, as the two Southeast Asian nations work to repatriate thousands of Myanmar nationals, repatriations that have drawn criticism. During the visit he is focusing on diplomacy and bilateral cooperation, seeking closer ties as he pivots to diplomacy.
- South Korea test-flies its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon
South Korea has flight-tested its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon.
- South Korea to recall its ambassador to Ukraine over a North Korean POW dispute
South Korea says it will recall its ambassador to Ukraine, stepping up its protest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent revelation of a supposedly secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.
- Suspected plot against RAF Fairford: seven men arrested and bailed, U.S. bombers withdrawn
Five men were arrested near RAF Fairford, a U.S.-run air base in England used by American bombers to strike Iran, and released on bail; British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were 'strong indications' Iran played a part. A sixth man, a dual U.K.-Iranian national, was arrested in London and also released on bail, and on October 6 police arrested a seventh man, 22, in London on suspicion of a terror offense linked to Iran. The U.S. Air Force has brought all its bombers at RAF Fairford back to the United States. On October 8, police released on bail a 22-year-old British man arrested on suspicion of plotting a terror attack at the base, the seventh man bailed in the investigation.
- Rubio visits Portugal, praising a 'great ally' as he wraps up a tour of NATO allies
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Portugal, wrapping up a tour of NATO allies. He praised the country as a 'great ally' and is looking to build deeper ties.
- Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem is downgraded to a mission in a dispute with Israel
Britain's consulate in east Jerusalem is being downgraded in status to a mission, following a dispute with Israel related to British trade sanctions against Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The facility was under threat of being shut, but Israel and the U.K. cut a last-minute deal to avoid its full closure, The New York Times reports, and it will remain under a new name, the British foreign secretary said. Israel says the consulate has stopped functioning in that capacity and 20 staffers will leave the country.
- Police fire tear gas at a barricaded Paris school as protests show no sign of ending
Students in northeastern Paris gathered Thursday to protest outside a barricaded high school, and police responded using tear gas, as school protests in France show no sign of ending.
- Eritrean soldiers entered northern Ethiopian towns, a government-allied commander says
A commander allied with Ethiopia's government says Eritrean soldiers have entered towns in northern Ethiopia. According to the commander, the soldiers entered Adigrat and Idaga Hamus, with military officers conducting surveillance in Idaga Hamus.
- Rubio, in Athens, urges Europe to defend Western values and presses Greece on migration
In a sweeping speech against the backdrop of the Acropolis in Athens, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for the nations of the West to return to their civilizational roots and restore the values that drove the rise of Europe and North America to global dominance for centuries, and urged Europe to strengthen its alliance with the United States. He praised Greece for spending more on defense while saying it needs to address 'mass migration', and stressed the need for U.S. security work with Greece on migration and terrorism. Greece has been a longtime defense and security ally of the United States and lets the U.S. military and other NATO member nations use sites on its territory for a range of operations.
- Russian strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities kill at least 25 civilians
Russian missiles and drones pounded Kyiv and a dozen other Ukrainian regions overnight into Wednesday in a major attack that Kyiv saw coming. The toll rose through the day, from two dead in the capital in early reports to at least 25 civilians killed, including five children, and about 100 injured in the latest report.
- Brazil presidential election heads to runoff after no majority vote
Brazil's presidential election has moved to a runoff after no candidate secured a majority of votes in the first round, which the electoral court confirmed. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, came first ahead of incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the two will meet in the runoff on October 25. Lula was to spend Monday trying to shake up his campaign, while Bolsonaro reached for more support. Both are now focused on persuading undecided voters, as Brazil's undecided and abstaining voters may determine the election.
- Ukraine claws back land in the Donbas, thwarting a Russian push
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that the fall of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine is inevitable and will happen faster than Ukraine thinks, but recent trends paint a different picture. Ukraine has clawed back land in the Donbas, and Kyiv has so far stymied Russian efforts to encircle Ukrainian 'fortress belt' cities.
- Senators push the Trump administration to act swiftly on Russian sanctions to help Ukraine
Bipartisan leadership in the Senate is urging the Trump administration to act swiftly on Russian sanctions to help Ukraine. The push comes nearly a month after President Donald Trump signed a sweeping Russian sanctions bill named after Lindsey Graham.