Bedtime rundown: the day's news, Tuesday 20 October 2026

Tuesday’s later stories, gathered in one place. Each item links to our full report.

Earlier today

Benjamin Netanyahu presented an updated security doctrine, saying a future US president could be “very hostile” to Israel (report). The UK and Poland rejected Pete Hegseth’s remarks on NATO allies’ role in Afghanistan (report). China’s economy grew 4.5% in the third quarter, official data show (report).

Breaking

At 7:10am GMT we reported that Abyei’s caretaker information minister said drones struck the Amiet market in the disputed region on Monday, killing at least 73 people and wounding 19, and blamed Sudan’s army. South Sudan’s foreign ministry summoned Sudan’s ambassador; Sudan’s government had not commented.

Politics

• A US official said White House envoy Steve Witkoff would hold talks in Oslo on Tuesday with Volodymyr Zelensky, Norway’s prime minister and European, EU and NATO officials, then travel to Russia hoping to meet Vladimir Putin (report).
• Speaking to reporters on Monday, Donald Trump said “somebody else” should negotiate for Ukraine and that Russia “has been fine on Ukraine” (report).
• Hegseth met Netanyahu at an air base in southern Israel on Monday and discussed Iran, three Israeli officials told Reuters; the Pentagon declined to comment (report).
• In Tehran, Sergei Lavrov called for a return to the pre-war situation in the Strait of Hormuz and said Russian specialists are returning to Bushehr (report).
• France: Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said Monday night’s partial curfews contributed to calm, and Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 123 people had been jailed since the weekend. In an 9:08am GMT update, RTL reported that anti-terrorism police had taken over the Limoges town hall fire investigation; Lecornu will receive party representatives on Thursday, and the CFDT union called a new mobilisation for 5 November (report).
• Italy: Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said the 500 extra soldiers being sent to Milan would act with police powers for three months, Rai News reported in our 7:14am GMT update. The cabinet meets on the decree at 3:30pm GMT Tuesday (report).
• Trump posted passages from his Kansas rally, repeating his $5,000 “Trump Dividend” pledge, and the Agriculture Department confirmed an $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief program (report).
• Trump thanked Elon Musk for pledging to give SpaceX shares to US children; CNBC estimated the pledge at about $10.5 billion (report). He also said New Mexico should “immediately” change its name to New America (report).

Geopolitics

• Zelensky told a US congressional delegation that Kyiv could halt strikes on Russian refineries for 30 days in exchange for Patriot interceptors over the same period (report).
• He told Corriere della Sera that US restrictions on intelligence sharing and Starlink were “real” and “unfair”, then wrote that he had a “substantive conversation” with Marco Rubio (report).
• A Russian drone strike on a park in Nova Vodolaha, Kharkiv region, killed six people, including three children, Ukrainian officials said, after an overnight attack Zelensky said hit 28 energy facilities (report).
• Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran would “absolutely not leave any attack unanswered” but must keep pursuing diplomacy (report).
• In a 11:07pm GMT update, LeoLabs told Ars Technica that Cosmos 2612 was moving away from ICEYE-X36 at about 17 km/h; no statement from Finland, Russia or NATO had been reported (report).

Technology

• Japan launched its MMX spacecraft on an H3 rocket to bring back samples from the Mars moon Phobos; it is due to reach Mars in August 2027 (report).

Sport

• Tottenham beat Coventry 3-1 for their first Premier League win of the season (report). Ten-man Getafe drew 1-1 with Rayo Vallecano (report), and Monza beat Cagliari 4-0 while Torino won 3-0 at Parma (report).
• Champions League: PSG host Barcelona at 7pm Tuesday GMT (preview), and Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo is out for about eight weeks, with Erling Haaland a doubt against AEK Athens (report).
• Basketball: Ben Simmons tore his Achilles tendon and is expected to miss the season (report); Brandon Miller agreed a $209m extension (report); the Lakers waived Dalton Knecht (report); and the EuroLeague plans to grow to 24 teams (report).
• Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand’s Kalyn Ponga has had surgery on a broken forearm (report), and Fiji’s Mitchell Prest received the tournament’s first judiciary charge (report).