Latest / The Rest of the World Podcast / The Rest of the World Report | October 23, 2026 — Morning Edition

Transcript

The Rest of the World Report | October 23, 2026 — Morning Edition · The Rest of the World Podcast

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning from Paris.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rudy Martinez with The Rest of the World Report for Friday morning, October 23rd.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Hebron attack and West Bank lockdown.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Two Palestinian gunmen wounded five people in a shootout at a checkpoint near Hebron on Friday.
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  SPEAKER_00: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then ordered an immediate cordon on the city
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  SPEAKER_00: and told Israeli forces to prepare a full lockdown on the occupied West Bank.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Israeli military said soldiers rushed the Judea Junction after
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: an early morning shooting attack.
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  SPEAKER_00: The junction is also known as the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint.
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  SPEAKER_00: The military said its soldiers killed the two gunmen who had arrived in a car with
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: an M16 rifle and a handgun.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israeli media reported that the soldiers belonged to the Home Front Command's Ari Battalion.
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  SPEAKER_00: Megan David Adam,
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  SPEAKER_00: Israel's emergency medical services, said the initial shooting wounded five people.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Two were in critical condition, and one account says at least five soldiers were hurt.
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  SPEAKER_00: Witnesses said the shooting lasted 20 minutes, which made it harder to get the injured out.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israeli media, citing security officials, said both gunmen were affiliated with Hamas.
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  SPEAKER_00: They were relatives from Hebron and both were 27 years old.
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  SPEAKER_00: Investigators are examining whether they acted alone or were directed by
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  SPEAKER_00: an outside organization.
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  SPEAKER_00: Military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said a large quantity
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  SPEAKER_00: of ammunition was found in their car.
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  SPEAKER_00: He said it was intended for a much larger attack.
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  SPEAKER_00: Netanyahu said troops had prevented what could have been a major attack.
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  SPEAKER_00: He also called for all political meetings to be canceled on Friday.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israeli forces then cordoned off Hebron and the nearby city of Halhol.
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  SPEAKER_00: No one could enter or leave either city.
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  SPEAKER_00: Extra checks on Palestinian vehicles were extended to the Janin, Nablus, and Jericho areas.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israel votes on Tuesday, and Netanyahu faces a tight race.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Idmar Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister, has been rising in the polls.
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  SPEAKER_00: He said the Palestinian Authority, quote, must be dismantled and demilitarized, close quote.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: No evidence suggests the Palestinian Authority was connected to the attack.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Authority is the Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank.
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  SPEAKER_00: The shooting came during an olive harvest in
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  SPEAKER_00: which extremist Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian harvesters.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israeli forces arrested 36 Palestinians in raids across the West Bank on Thursday.
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  SPEAKER_00: On Wednesday,
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  SPEAKER_00: Israeli forces briefly detained Brad Lander while he was volunteering
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  SPEAKER_00: to help Palestinian farmers pick olives.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lander is a U.S. Democratic congressional candidate.
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  SPEAKER_00: A tally,
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  SPEAKER_00: based on Palestinian health ministry data,
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  SPEAKER_00: says Israeli forces or settlers have killed 1,113 Palestinians in the West Bank
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  SPEAKER_00: since the Gaza War began in October 2023.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israeli figures show at least 49 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks
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  SPEAKER_00: or Israeli military operations over the same period.
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  SPEAKER_00: Translators note,
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  SPEAKER_00: the Hebron attack is being read as the first security test
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  SPEAKER_00: of Israel's election campaign.
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  SPEAKER_00: The warning that attacks would come around the vote dates from September 30th.
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  SPEAKER_00: Netanyahu then said there were, quote,
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  SPEAKER_00: Indications that ahead of the elections our enemies will try to attack us,
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  SPEAKER_00: close quote.
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  SPEAKER_00: Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused him of fear-mongering.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israeli media reported that on Thursday,
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  SPEAKER_00: Defense Minister Israel Katz said hostile actors planned attacks on election eve or
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  SPEAKER_00: on election day to influence the result.
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  SPEAKER_00: He added that every attack to come would be recorded in the names
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  SPEAKER_00: of opposition figures, including Lapid, Naftali Bennett, and Yair Golan.
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  SPEAKER_00: Gadi Eisenkot is Netanyahu's top rival.
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  SPEAKER_00: He said blaming rivals for attacks before they happen was an unprecedented low for
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  SPEAKER_00: a defense minister.
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  SPEAKER_00: The military was preparing two.
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  SPEAKER_00: It raised its alert level twice in the past month and suspended leave
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  SPEAKER_00: across all units from Thursday.
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  SPEAKER_00: So the argument over who answers for an attack began before this one did.
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  SPEAKER_00: After the attack, Eisencott said that he praised for the wounded and praised the troops.
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  SPEAKER_00: That keeps the soldiers out of the dispute.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israeli police said only that the background to the attack was nationalistic.
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  SPEAKER_00: With the vote on Tuesday,
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  SPEAKER_00: every security decision between now and then will be judged as policy and
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  SPEAKER_00: as campaigning.
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  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
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  SPEAKER_00: Two Palestinian gunmen attacked Israeli forces near Hebron on Friday
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  SPEAKER_00: and were killed, and five people were wounded.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israeli media identified the gunmen as Hamas affiliates.
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  SPEAKER_00: Netanyahu ordered a cordon on Hebron and told forces to prepare a full lockdown of
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  SPEAKER_00: the West Bank.
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  SPEAKER_00: Israel votes on Tuesday in a tight race.
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  SPEAKER_00: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Tibet on Thursday night and killed
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  SPEAKER_00: at least 16 people, according to Chinese state media.
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  SPEAKER_00: Dozens were injured and hundreds of homes collapsed.
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  SPEAKER_00: The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at 10.33 p.m. local time.
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  SPEAKER_00: It placed the epicenter in a mountainous area about 190 kilometers east-northeast of
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  SPEAKER_00: the city of Nagku, about 300 kilometers northeast of the regional capital, Lhasa.
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  SPEAKER_00: State media reports differ on the number injured.
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  SPEAKER_00: One count says 54 and another count from state television says 65.
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  SPEAKER_00: State media also says more than 300 houses collapsed.
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  SPEAKER_00: China's national broadcaster calls it the biggest earthquake in the region in five years.
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  SPEAKER_00: President Xi Jinping said the quake caused significant casualties at a high altitude
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  SPEAKER_00: in cold weather.
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  SPEAKER_00: He called for all-out search and rescue efforts.
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  SPEAKER_00: Baking County mobilized more than 1,600 people for the relief operation,
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  SPEAKER_00: and by 4.30 a.m.
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  SPEAKER_00: Friday, officials had delivered 1,000 prefabricated houses and 3,239 tents.
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  SPEAKER_00: Power and telecom services were disrupted in the county seat.
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  SPEAKER_00: Residents told local media they were sleeping in tents along the roadsides or in their cars.
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  SPEAKER_00: Tibet is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists,
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  SPEAKER_00: so Chinese authorities are the only official source of information.
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  SPEAKER_00: In January 2025, an earthquake in Tibet's Tingri County killed at least 126 people.
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  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Tibet on Thursday night and killed at least 16 people.
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  SPEAKER_00: More than 300 houses collapsed, and state media gives injury count of 54 and 65.
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  SPEAKER_00: Foreign journalists have limited access to the region,
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  SPEAKER_00: so the figures come from Chinese authorities.
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  SPEAKER_00: Xi Jinping has ordered an all-out rescue.
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  SPEAKER_00: Aramco evacuates headquarters.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saudi Aramco evacuated its headquarters in Dahran after an alarm on Thursday
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  SPEAKER_00: and asked staff to work from home according to people familiar with the situation.
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  SPEAKER_00: The reason for the alarm was not immediately known.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was not clear how long employees would work remotely.
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  SPEAKER_00: Aramco and Saudi Arabia's energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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  SPEAKER_00: Reports describe it as the company's first evacuation since the Iran War began.
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  SPEAKER_00: The evacuation follows a run of attacks by Yemen's Houthis, who are allied with Iran.
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  SPEAKER_00: On Wednesday,
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  SPEAKER_00: a drone strike on Aramco's Shaiba oil field killed two people
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  SPEAKER_00: but left operations unaffected.
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  SPEAKER_00: Last week, Houthi militants attacked a tower in Aramco's headquarters compound.
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  SPEAKER_00: The attack damaged three floors and caused a fire.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Houthis have been in conflict with Riyadh since well before
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  SPEAKER_00: the U.S.-Iran War began in February.
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  SPEAKER_00: They stepped up attacks in October after Saudi-backed Yemeni forces launched
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  SPEAKER_00: an offensive to recapture Houthi-held areas.
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  SPEAKER_00: The escalating strikes have prompted Saudi Arabia to postpone its flagship investment summit.
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  SPEAKER_00: The future investment initiative usually brings finance,
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  SPEAKER_00: energy, and political leaders to Riyadh.
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  SPEAKER_00: They will now be held in 2027.
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  SPEAKER_00: The strikes also led the United Kingdom to add defensive support to the kingdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: The U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: State Department has ordered non-emergency personnel and their families
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  SPEAKER_00: to leave Saudi Arabia.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index fell 2.5% on Thursday after the news.
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  SPEAKER_00: Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 4% on Thursday to settle at $113.17 a barrel.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was the biggest gain in roughly two weeks and the highest settlement since May 4th.
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  SPEAKER_00: Brent futures rose another 1.2% early Friday to $114.47.
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  SPEAKER_00: And as of this typing, it is currently at $114.50.
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  SPEAKER_00: The benchmark is up more than 80% this year since the U.S.-Iran war disrupted flows
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  SPEAKER_00: from the Persian Gulf.
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  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
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  SPEAKER_00: Aramco, the world's biggest oil exporting company,
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  SPEAKER_00: evacuated its Dohran headquarters on Thursday after an alarm.
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  SPEAKER_00: The cause is unknown and Brent Crude settled at 113.17 on Thursday,
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  SPEAKER_00: its highest settlement since May 4th.
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  SPEAKER_00: The State Department has ordered non-emergency U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia.
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  SPEAKER_00: Serbia's students rally before votes.
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  SPEAKER_00: Crowds filled Belgrade's Slavia Square and the streets around it on Thursday for
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  SPEAKER_00: the final rally of the student-led list-challenging Alexander Vucic
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  SPEAKER_00: in Sunday's parliamentary election.
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  SPEAKER_00: One Wire Report put the crowd at tens of thousands.
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  SPEAKER_00: Another put it at hundreds of thousands.
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  SPEAKER_00: Vucic resigned the presidency in September to run for prime minister.
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  SPEAKER_00: He held his own closing rally the same day at a sports hall across town.
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  SPEAKER_00: Several thousand people attended,
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  SPEAKER_00: and he's expected to win by several hundred thousands of votes.
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  SPEAKER_00: He also called the contest a tough, uncertain struggle.
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  SPEAKER_00: He's accused the student movement of being a foreign-funded coup attempt.
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  SPEAKER_00: Serbia lacks reliable independent polling.
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  SPEAKER_00: Political scientist Dusan Vucicevic expects the student list to win more than 40% of
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  SPEAKER_00: the vote, far more than any opposition list since Vucic's party took power in 2012.
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  SPEAKER_00: Other reports describe the race as close.
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  SPEAKER_00: Analysts warn of instability if both sides claim victory after polls close.
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  SPEAKER_00: Observers say the two-way contest could push most smaller parties below
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  SPEAKER_00: the 3% threshold needed to win seats in the 250-member parliament.
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  SPEAKER_00: 24 Serbian civil society groups warned this week that conditions for free
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  SPEAKER_00: and fair elections were lacking.
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  SPEAKER_00: A monitoring group counted more than 100 violent incidents during the campaign.
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  SPEAKER_00: On Wednesday,
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  SPEAKER_00: prosecutors questioned six people arrested on suspicion of plotting violence,
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  SPEAKER_00: riots, and attacks on Election Day.
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  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Serbians vote on Sunday in a snap parliamentary election.
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  SPEAKER_00: Reports put the final student rally in Belgrade on Thursday at anywhere from tens
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  SPEAKER_00: of thousands to hundreds of thousands of people.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Serbia has little reliable independent polling, and the race is described as close.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Azerbaijan's hijab protests.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: An activist says 88 people have been detained in the Azerbaijani village of Nardaran
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  SPEAKER_00: for protesting against restrictions on wearing the hijab in schools.
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  SPEAKER_00: He says most face criminal charges.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Interior Ministry said on October 12th that 37 people had been detained
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  SPEAKER_00: for disrupting public order while breaking the new rules.
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  SPEAKER_00: The reports do not say whether the counts overlap.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: New school rules introduced in September ban pupils from wearing clothes
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  SPEAKER_00: that violate the principle of secularism in education.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: The rules do not name the hijab,
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  SPEAKER_00: but even so,
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  SPEAKER_00: teachers and pupils in headscarves have been turned away at school gates.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: More than 90% of Azerbaijanis are Muslim.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Zahid Uruj chairs the Human Rights Committee of Parliament.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: He said there's no ban on headscarves outside school and that
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  SPEAKER_00: the aim is uniform rules in school.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: The activist who gave the 88 figure is Alamdar Bunyatov of
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  SPEAKER_00: the European Representation of the Muslim Unity Movement.
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  SPEAKER_00: He says four Nardaran residents were remanded into custody for three months.
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  SPEAKER_00: He alleges that police have pressured residents and said
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  SPEAKER_00: that detainees lack independent lawyers.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Interior Ministry press service has not responded to questions about the raids
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  SPEAKER_00: when the report was published.
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  SPEAKER_00: The dispute has also affected Azerbaijan's relations with Turkey, a close ally.
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  SPEAKER_00: Oktay Saral, an advisor to Turkish President Erdogan, called the move unacceptable.
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  SPEAKER_00: On October 13th,
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  SPEAKER_00: Azerbaijan's governing Yeni-Azerbaijan party answered
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  SPEAKER_00: that his comments were irresponsible.
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  SPEAKER_00: It said they risked harming ties between the allies.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev What American readers need to know.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Azerbaijan,
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  SPEAKER_00: a majority Muslim country,
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  SPEAKER_00: introduced school dress rules in September that have led to teachers and pupils
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  SPEAKER_00: in headscarves being turned away.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: An activist says 88 people were detained in one village while
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  SPEAKER_00: the Interior Ministry reported 37 detentions on October 12th.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: A Turkish presidential advisor criticized the rules and
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: the two countries' presidents spoke on Wednesday.
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  SPEAKER_00: And finally, a few quick briefs.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: First, Gaza.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least four people in Gaza on Thursday,
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  SPEAKER_00: health officials said.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Reports differ on who was killed near the Jabali refugee camp.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: One account says a young girl, another says a woman.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 1,538 Palestinians have been killed
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  SPEAKER_00: and 5,498 injured since the ceasefire took effect in October last year.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Israel says Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of the ceasefire.
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  SPEAKER_00: Hamas denies it.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Gwadar.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Officials said on Thursday that Pakistani security forces killed three militants
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  SPEAKER_00: and foiled an attack on an unoccupied construction company camp in Gwadar,
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  SPEAKER_00: Balakistan.
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  SPEAKER_00: No casualties were reported, but the attackers set fire to several trucks along a nearby road.
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  SPEAKER_00: A later report citing security sources put the number of militants killed at seven.
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  SPEAKER_00: It said four suspects were encircled at a hotel near Gwadar Highway.
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  SPEAKER_00: Officials called social media reports of attacks on security forces
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: and intelligence camps baseless.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, in a story that I felt personally, BioWare.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Electronic Arts is closing BioWare, the studio behind Dragon Age and Mass Effect.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's also cancelling Mass Effect 5.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: The game was announced in 2020, and it was in early development.
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  SPEAKER_00: EA is cutting about 400 jobs, roughly 3% of its workforce.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: About 50 are at BioWare, which EA acquired in 2007.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: EA said BioWare's latest game, Dragon Age The Veil Guard, underperformed.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was released in 2024.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: EA went private in August in a $55 billion leveraged buyout led
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: by Saudi Arabia's public investment fund with Silverlake and Affinity Partners.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: The buyout left the company with about $18 billion in debt.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's it for this morning's edition of The Rest of the World Report.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget that tonight we have our live Q&A at 6 Eastern.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rudy Martinez.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening.
• 14:19
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