All news: Wednesday 21 October 2026

October 2026 Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian airports

Two people are killed and eight others are injured in a Houthi attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia–United States relations

The U.S. Department of State orders non-emergency employees at its embassy in Riyadh to leave the country as Houthi attacks ramp up.

Houthi–Saudi conflict

Two people are killed and two others are injured by debris after a suspected Houthi drone is shot down near Shaybah oil field in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

2025 Gaza City offensive

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet say that they have killed Musa Abd Muhammad Hamouda, a Hamas Nukhba forces militant that took part in planning the killing of four IDF soldiers in September 2025.

2026 Croix-des-Bouquets gang ambush

Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele announces the start of a military operation to rescue four Air Force technicians. The technicians, attached to the international Gang Suppression Force, were taken hostage after gangs attacked their armored vehicle on 18 October.

Peace negotiations in the Russo-Ukrainian war

United States special envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Saint Petersburg to talk with Russian president Vladimir Putin about potentially resolving the war with Ukraine. Putin states he would resume United States-mediated trilateral peace talks with Ukraine, on or after November 10.

Peace negotiations in the Russo-Ukrainian war

American military veteran Stephen Hubbard, who was arrested by Russian authorities in 2022 during the Battle of Izium, is released from custody during the meeting between Putin and Witkoff.

Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey jointly sign the Badr Memorandum of Understanding, a major agreement to deepen their defence industry cooperation. The agreement aims to support joint military production projects and strengthen cooperation in technical training, research, and development.

Ireland's Dáil Éireann approves legislation removing the requirement for United Nations authorization before deploying more than 12 Defence Forces personnel overseas for peacekeeping missions, while retaining approval by the government and parliament.

2026 European unrest

Thousands of students and teachers march through Athens, Thessaloniki, and Patras in Greece to protest against the rising cost of living, calling for affordable student housing and more state investment in education.

2026 Quebec general election

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is sworn in as the 34th premier of Quebec, Canada, following the Parti Québécois's victory in the general election.

2026 Iran war fuel crisis

South Africa cuts fuel levies by R3.00 (US$0.18) per litre of diesel and R1.50 ($0.09) per litre of petrol from November 4 to December 1 after fuel prices reach record highs.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) of the United Kingdom approves production from the Jackdaw gas field after energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh authorized the NSTA to grant consent, allowing operator Adura to begin supplying gas by late October.

2026 anti-immigrant movement and xenophobia in South Africa

A foreign national is beaten to death by a crowd in Durban, South Africa.

2026 Italian unrest

Italian interior minister Matteo Piantedosi announces a crackdown on truck drivers and farmers protesting in southern Italy over the past month against high fuel prices by blocking highways and transport routes, reporting that they have identified 1,339 individuals, reported 71, and fined 242.

Cross-strait relations

Taiwanese prosecutors indict five people for allegedly accepting money and planning to injure Huang Yihao, an anti-Chinese Communist Party comedian in New Taipei City.

Lawsuits involving Meta Platforms

A district judge in New Mexico, United States, orders Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found it guilty of misleading Facebook users about privacy violations, marking its largest fine ever.

Over 80 Americans, British citizens, and Israelis are detained by Israeli soldiers in the Israel-occupied West Bank, including U.S. House of Representatives candidate Brad Lander.

A Tunisian military court sentences politician and businesswoman Olfa Hamdi to four years in prison on state security charges linked to social media posts, including accusations of inciting military personnel to disobey orders.

Leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts

American video game publisher Electronic Arts, which was recently bought-out by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, announces the closing of its Canadian studio BioWare.

Black October

Node.js releases three security updates to 10 different vulnerabilities, including 4 deemed high-severity, which affect how it handles DNS resolution, TLS handshakes, and Brotli decoding.

Black October

A critical security flaw, allowing for remote code execution, in 12 years of GitLab versions is disclosed, requiring updates.

Black October

Open-source artificial intelligence gateway LiteLLM is compromised by attackers, who push a malicious version of LiteLLM to the Python Package Index.

2026 Canadian Championship final

In association football, Forge FC defeats CF Montréal in a penalty shoot-out to become the first Canadian Premier League team to win a Canadian Championship.

2026 U.S. Open Cup final

In association football, St. Louis City SC defeats Columbus Crew in a penalty shoot-out to win the U.S. Open Cup, earning the club its first trophy since beginning play in 2023.