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October 10: Okinawa demands military pact rewrite as Zelenskyy challenges Russian diesel deal
In Okinawa
A killing at a hotel in Naha has renewed a 66-year-old dispute over whether American troops in Japan receive special treatment. Okinawa’s prefectural assembly is demanding a fundamental rewrite of the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement, the pact governing the status of American forces stationed in the country.
In U.S. news
Two police officers were shot early Saturday while responding to a call in West Philadelphia. One officer was shot 12 times, and the other three times.
Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, on Friday evening, bringing high winds, rain and flooding. One person died, and 860,000 were left without power. The storm was later downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone.
In New York’s Marble Hill neighborhood, federal agents fired several rounds at a suspect inside a car with a five-year-old. The agents wore construction vests and masks concealing their faces. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for ICE to be abolished, arguing that it undermines public safety. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the mayor and said he would never apologize.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of House members is signing a written pledge to seat every state-certified winner of the 2026 midterms, amid concerns about attempts to block members-elect from taking office.
In the Middle East
A blast has been reported at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The airport has been targeted multiple times this week amid intensified fighting between Yemen-based Houthi rebels and a Saudi-backed coalition.
Separately, Russian state media reported Saturday that Vladimir Putin conveyed Tehran’s proposal for a possible end to the war in Iran to Donald Trump.
London nursery abuse inquiry
An investigation overseen by Camden council cleared nursery worker Vincent Chan of significant concerns three years before his arrest. He went on to abuse children at a Bright Horizons nursery on Finchley Road in north-west London. In February, Chan was jailed after pleading guilty to 56 offences, including sexual assaults on three-year-old girls in his care.
Ukraine and Russian diesel
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Washington of helping fund Russia’s war through a deal Trump announced Friday to buy large quantities of Russian diesel. Zelenskyy linked deadly Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilians to the agreement and warned that fuel revenues would intensify the war. Trump said the deal was needed to reduce diesel prices. European leaders reiterated their support for Kyiv.
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