Latest / The Rest of the World Podcast / The Rest of the World Report | October 21, 2026 — Morning Edition

Transcript

The Rest of the World Report | October 21, 2026 — Morning Edition · The Rest of the World Podcast

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning from Paris.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rudy Martinez with The Rest of the World Report for Wednesday morning, October 21st.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Russian state media reported Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin has ordered
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American jailed in Russia.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Hubbard is 74 and a native of Michigan.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: He was taken from his home in Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Russia accused him of serving as a mercenary for Ukraine's armed forces,
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: and he was sentenced to six years in prison.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Washington says he was wrongfully detained.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: State media quoted Putin as saying Hubbard was already preparing to board a flight
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: to the United States.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Trump said Tuesday that he had asked Putin to release him.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff landed in St.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Petersburg on Wednesday morning and was met by Kirill Dmitriev,
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Putin's investment envoy.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: He is due to meet Putin there.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Jared Kushner stayed home with the flu and may join by video link.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Witkoff arrived from Oslo, where he met Zelensky on Tuesday.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: A U.S. official who asked not to be named...
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: said the talks made meaningful progress toward a coordinated approach to Russia.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: The official said Witkoff would try to open a path to direct three-way negotiations,
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: and Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the talks positive.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Trump said Tuesday that Ukraine has to want to settle the war,
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: and that Russia has taken a very large piece of land.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: The fighting has not paused.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Ukraine's emergency services said two people were killed in a Russian attack on
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: a high-rise in Kiev's Vyotoshinsky district.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: The governor of Russia's Bryonsk region,
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Igor Kovalchuk,
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: said one person was killed and two wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: The Starshield slowdown that Zelensky blamed on Washington has a new account.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: A report on Tuesday citing U.S.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: officials and people familiar with the matter said Elon Musk ordered it.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Rubio says Trump had nothing to do with the decisions made by Starlink and Starshield.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Musk disputes the reports and says only the U.S.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: military and the president can make such decisions.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Putin has ordered the release of Stephen Hubbard,
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: a 74-year-old American, as Witkoff arrives in St. Petersburg to meet him.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Witkoff comes from Oslo with Ukraine's proposals.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And Russia and Ukraine kept striking each other on Wednesday.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: The U.S.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: military says evidence does not show its strikes killed civilians in Jammame,
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Somalia in November of 2025.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Other counts of the dead run from 12 to 28.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: The findings surfaced Tuesday when U.S.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Africa Command,
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: or AFRICOM,
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  SPEAKER_00: Described its review to a news organization reporting on survivors' accounts of
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: the strikes.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: AFRICOM acknowledges airstrikes in the area on November 14th and 15th.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: It reviewed reports that U.S.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: operations killed 10 to 12 civilians and destroyed homes and businesses.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: It concluded the information did not meet its, quote,
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: more likely than not,
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: close quote, threshold for saying U.S. strikes caused the harm.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: It did not say whether investigators spoke to survivors,
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: relatives, hospital staff, or local authorities.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: It says the review could be reopened if new information emerges.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Other counts are higher.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: A monitoring network led by the UN Refugee Agency documented 12 civilian deaths
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: in fighting and airstrikes around Jamameh between November 16th and 18th.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: It says airstrikes and ground fighting together make it hard to say
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  SPEAKER_00: which forces were responsible.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: A British newspaper investigation published in June found that
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: at least 12 civilians, including eight children, died.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: A civilian harm monitoring group counts at least 28 people reported killed and 9 injured.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: It says sources disagree on who was responsible.
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  SPEAKER_00: Some point to the U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: airstrikes,
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  SPEAKER_00: others to ground operations by U.S.-trained Danab forces, or to Klan militias.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Survivors describe the death.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Maryam Haji Abdi-Ghaled said a munition struck near her door and three
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: of her six children were wounded.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Her 7-year-old son still has shrapnel in his hip and doctors have told her
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: that removing it could leave him paralyzed.
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  SPEAKER_00: She believes the U.S. drones carried out the attack.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: A farmer says his wife,
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  SPEAKER_00: nine months pregnant, was killed when debris from an airstrike hit her neck.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Authorities in Jubilan State said Somali and regional forces killed
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: at least 56 al-Shabaab fighters in the operation.
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  SPEAKER_00: That has not been independently verified.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: AFRICOM lists 84 strikes in Somalia through September.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: A Washington think tank that tracks the strikes independently counts 88.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: The pace has not been steady.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: By the think tank's count, AFRICOM declared 26 strikes in January and 7 in March.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: The administration's 2026 counterterrorism strategy says approval authority was
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: returned to military commanders shortly after Trump took office.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: AFRICOM stopped routinely reporting fighters killed in its strikes announcements in early 2025.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: It has also revised civilian harm findings in Somalia before,
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: acknowledging deaths after first reporting none.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Translator's Notes Outside the United States,
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Jemame is reported as an accountability gap more than as a single disputed strike.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: The Guardian pieced together the day from survivors,
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: x-rays of shrapnel wounds and video, and Al Jazeera interviewed survivors.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Both set the family's accounts against AFRICOM's findings.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: The reason is the standard of proof.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: AFRICOM said the evidence did not show its strikes were more likely than not
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: to have caused the harm.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Al Jazeera notes that this does not establish the strikes caused none.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: The Guardian reported that every witness interviewed said al-Shabaab was not in the town.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: That is the witness's account.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Air Wars says sources disagree on who caused the death.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: AFRICOM says its review could not show that U.S.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: strikes killed civilians in Jamameh in November of 2025.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Other counts put the dead at 12 to 28,
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: and sources disagree on whether airstrikes or ground forces caused the deaths.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: AFRICOM lists 84 strikes in Somalia through September.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it says it can reopen the Jamami Review if new information emerges.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: The World Food Program has cut food assistance in Gaza by about a third.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: This month, it is supporting 1.1 million people, down from 1.6 million in September.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: We reported the cuts on Tuesday.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: The program has now given details.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Families receive one food parcel instead of two, and a smaller bag of wheat flour.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Daily hot meals fall from 250,000 to 150,000.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Cash assistance to 75,000 families has been reduced.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: The program says its funding for Palestinian operations is less than half
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: of what it received in earlier years.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: It needs $450 million to keep working in Gaza and the West Bank through March.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Its acting director, Carl Skow, said the cuts come only because we have less funding.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: About 1.4 million people,
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: 67% of Gaza's population, face acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: That is down from 77% at the end of 2025, but about 200,000 are in emergency conditions.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: The UN Humanitarian Office says more than 2,800 children were admitted
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: for malnutrition treatment in September.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: More than 360 of them had severe acute malnutrition.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: A WFP employee in Gaza said aid trucks had fallen from more than 25 a day to 8 or 10
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: on the best days.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: That has been the case for about six weeks.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Israeli strikes killed at least seven people across Gaza on Tuesday,
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: according to the Civil Defense and Hospitals.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Among them were Akram Yasin and his wife, Dina Abu-Baker, in Gaza City Apartments.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: The Israeli military said Yasin was a senior official in Hamas's general security apparatus.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Gaza's health authorities count 1,522 Palestinians killed and 5,421 wounded since
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: the ceasefire of October 2025.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: About 950,000 displaced people are living in sites at medium to high risk
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: of flooding as winter approaches.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: The World Food Program has cut food assistance in Gaza from 1.6 million people
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  SPEAKER_00: to 1.1 million and have halved family rations.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: About two-thirds of Gaza's population faces acute food insecurity.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Israeli strikes continue despite the October 2025 ceasefire.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: North Korea says it has moved new firepower units into firing position on its border
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: with South Korea.
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  SPEAKER_00: Kim Yo-yong,
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  SPEAKER_00: the sister of leader Kim Yong-un,
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  SPEAKER_00: said on Wednesday in a statement carried by state media,
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: she said Kim Yong-un ordered the border fortified so that it can never be breached.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: State media said Marshal Pak Yong-chon inspected border positions
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  SPEAKER_00: and told troops it was time to build firepower strong enough to terrify the enemy.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: He said border forces must take overwhelming action if enemy troops provoke them.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: On September 21,
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: an explosion inside the demilitarized zone injured three South Korean soldiers.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on September 28
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: that North Korean landmines were highly likely to have caused it.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: The UN command,
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: which oversees the border area,
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  SPEAKER_00: said the blast violated the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: North Korea denies it laid the mines and said its soldiers have never crossed the border.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: On Monday,
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: North Korea called the border situation grave
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: and said it was considering deploying more strike means there.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: It said South Korea made nearly 1,000 provocative loudspeaker broadcasts
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: and fired many warning shots between October 1st and October 17th.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Seoul says it used loudspeakers and warning shots
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: to stop North Korean troops crossing the military demarcation line and
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: to drive back those who did.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: It gave no numbers.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: South Korea's Joint Chiefs Chairman Jin Yong-sung ordered the military to respond
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: with firm resolve if North Korea uses measures as a pretext for aggression.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: In August,
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: South Korean authorities said North Korean troops crossed the line more
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: than 20 times against 17 times in all of 2025.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: North Korea has also tested a precision-guided torpedo system and
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: an intermediate-range hypersonic missile recently.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know is that North Korea says new firepower units are
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: in firing position along the border with South Korea.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: The move follows a September 21 explosion in the demilitarized zone
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: that injured three South Korean soldiers.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Seoul blames North Korean landmines and North Korea denies it.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: South Korea has warned of a firm response to any provocation.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: NATO is sending more patrol aircraft,
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: radar systems,
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: and intelligence personnel to the Black Sea after drone attacks on commercial ships.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: NATO spokesman Colonel Martin O'Donnell said Tuesday that allies have sent
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: or will send maritime patrol aircraft,
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: radar systems, explosive exploitation teams, intelligence personnel, and drones.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: He said the most important step is better situational awareness through more sensors
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: and data sharing.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: The EU's top diplomat,
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Kaya Callas,
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: called six attacks in 10 days by suspected Russian drones a dangerous
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: and unacceptable escalation.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: She said the Kremlin likely wants to choke off Kiev's grain export revenue.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Last week, drones struck two chemical tankers near Romania's coast and set them ablaze.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Seven sailors were reported missing.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: At least five other cargo vessels were hit The Rest
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: of
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: the World Report reported ships hit off Romania on October 6th and off Bulgaria
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: on October 13th.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: NATO, Bulgaria, and Romania have not named a country.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Military analysts say Russia almost certainly carried out the attacks,
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: but Moscow has not acknowledged responsibility.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know,
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: NATO is adding a patrol aircraft, radar,
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: and intelligence staff in the Black Sea Italy's cabinet approved sending 500 troops
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: to Milan on Tuesday after cost-of-living protests that turned violent.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: We reported the Milan clashes on Tuesday.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Groups of mainly young people looted shops,
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: smashed windows, and fought police over the weekend.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Protesters cite fuel and energy prices, high rents, low wages, and public services.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: The Defense Ministry said the troops will reinforce security at key sites
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: and step up surveillance.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: The Cabinet also created a new offense.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Anyone in a group of at least five who endangers public safety during
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: a protest faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to €20,000.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: If faces are concealed or people are injured,
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: parents can be held liable for damage done by minors.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Police may detain 14- to 17-year-olds,
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: even if they have committed no crime, when there is evidence they pose a danger.
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  SPEAKER_00: Whatever that means.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: The measures took effect immediately.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Italian media reported that the cabinet did not give soldiers policing powers,
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: as expected, after opposition from President Sergio Mattarella.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Prime Minister Giorgio Maloney said destroying and stealing is not protest, it is a crime.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Truck drivers in southern Italy are also blocking roads over diesel prices.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: National elections are due in 2027.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: In Portugal,
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: police cleared protest camps in Lisbon and Porto before 6am Tuesday
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: and arrested 55 people.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: They were released pending a court appearance in Lisbon on Wednesday.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thousands returned to both squares within hours,
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: and organizers said more than 1,000 gathered at each site.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: The camp spokesperson called the Lisbon eviction very aggressive.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Police said it was calm and proportionate.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: The protesters want the center-right government to withdraw a bill
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: that makes evictions easier and ends rent caps on new leases.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: It has passed its first reading in Parliament.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Home prices in Portugal have more than doubled since 2017,
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: and rents on new leases have nearly doubled also.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know,
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Italy is sending 500 troops to Milan and creating prison terms for violent protests
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: after cost-of-living riots.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Portugal cleared housing protest camps and arrested 55 people, and thousands returned.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Both come amid unrest over rising living costs across Europe.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Florida has issued an arrest warrant for Raul Castro,
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: the 95-year-old former Cuban president,
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: on a state charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: State Attorney General James Uthmeyer announced the warrant on Monday.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: It rests on Castro's alleged role in ordering the shooting down
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: of two unarmed aircraft on February 24, 1996.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: They belonged to Brothers to the Rescue,
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: a Florida-based group that helps Cubans fleeing the island.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Four people were killed, and Castro was Cuba's defense minister then.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: U.S. authorities say the planes were over international waters and received no warning.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: Cuban officials say earlier Brothers to
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: the Rescue flights had breached Cuban airspace despite warnings.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: The state charge follows a federal indictment unveiled in May.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: It charges Castro with conspiracy to kill U.S.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: nationals, destroying aircraft, and four counts of murder.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: U.S. Attorney James Redding Quinones said the federal case laid the groundwork
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: for Florida's and that the government is pursuing parallel federal
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: and state prosecutions.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: Since January, the Trump administration has tightened restrictions on Cuba.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Experts say its threat of steep tariffs on any country that supplies Cuba
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: with oil has effectively barred fuel exports to the island.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Florida has issued an arrest warrant for 95-year-old Raul Castro over
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: the 1996 shooting down of two brothers to the rescue planes.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Four people were killed, and a federal indictment from May already charges him.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Experts say U.S. tariff threats have effectively cut off fuel exports to Cuba since January.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Two dozen independent UN experts called on India on Tuesday
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: to stop using excessive force against protesters.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: The experts pressed for an impartial investigation.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Demonstrators have been injured and some report ill treatment,
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: they said,
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: with particular concern over reports of sexual violence and other gender-based abuse
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: in the protests and related detentions.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: In their account,
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: police used Lathi charges,
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: or charges by officers with sticks,
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: against unarmed students and blocked thousands from joining protests.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: India should rescind blanket bans on assembly
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: and stop misusing digital surveillance,
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: including biometrics and internet shutdowns, the statement said.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: India has dismissed such criticism as interference in its internal affairs,
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: including when the UN Human Rights Office raised concerns
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: about mass detentions earlier this month.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: We reported on the protests Tuesday.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Led by the cockroach Janta party,
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: they demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gayanesh Kumar
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: after 130 million names were removed from voter lists.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Two dozen independent UN experts say India's police have used excessive force
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: on protesters, demanding the resignation of the election chief.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: India has dismissed UN criticism as interference.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: The protests began after 130 million names were removed from voter lists.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: Brazil.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Brazil votes Sunday in the presidential runoff
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Lula challenged Bolsonaro on Tuesday to release their bank,
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: tax, and phone records, and those of their families.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: A corruption scandal around the banker Daniel Vocaro has implicated figures
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: in institutions across Brazil,
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: and Bolsonaro is the only major candidate with direct links to him.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Mehta told the Supreme Court it has taken steps
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: to give both campaigns equal treatment and that automated restrictions
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: on either campaign's advertising accounts will be reviewed within two hours
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: until Sunday's votes.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Abye, U.N.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesman,
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Stéphane Dujaric,
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: condemned Monday's drone attacks near Amiette Market and Todak,
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: saying dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: His statement did not say who carried them out.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: The U.N. said many people remain missing and the toll is likely to rise.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: Abye's caretaker information minister,
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Johanna Achol-Engor, put the toll at more than 220 on Tuesday.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: Unnamed diplomats said the strike hit a fuel depot in the market.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Midterms.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Trump said Tuesday that he plans to spend more than $400 million
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: to help Republican candidates in the November 3rd midterms,
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: and that more than $300 million has already been spent.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: A poll this week found that 31% of Americans approve of his job performance.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: The super PAC MAGA Inc. Entered September with $415.8 million in cash.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Georgia's Constitutional Court began hearing a case Wednesday brought by
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: the ruling Georgian Dream Party, which seeks to ban five opposition parties.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: Four of the five will defend themselves, and the Federalists are boycotting.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: The hearings are in Batumi and continue through Friday.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: The court must rule by June 24, 2027.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: And finally,
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: in Yemen,
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: the death toll from Monday's Houthi missile attack on a government training camp
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: in Shabwa province rose to 60, officials said Tuesday.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: At least a dozen are still missing, and more than 200 recruits were wounded.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's it for this morning's edition of The Rest of the World Report.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rudy Martinez.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening, and I will see you all again this evening.
• 19:28
  [music]