NEW: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain is open to Germany joining the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a fighter jet project with Italy and Japan.

The proposal follows the collapse of a rival Franco-German fighter jet programme in June.

Source: Reuters

NEW: Sudan RSF commander defects to army, says he's bringing 300 troops and 30 vehicles.

Lt. Col. Mohamed Azraq Al-Fanjari, who is described as commander of the RSF's Special Tasks Group, said in a video that he has left the Rapid Support Forces and joined the Sudanese Army. He called the war "futile," apologized to Sudanese families for abuses against civilians, and urged other RSF fighters to follow him.

It fits a pattern of earlier switches, including Abu Aqla Keikal (Oct 2024), Al-Nour al-Qubba (Apr 2026) and Ali Rizqallah (May 2026), plus unit-level defections reported through July–September 2026.

Marco Rubio refused to comment on allegations that U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle asked a Trump donor to pay her $100,000 credit card bill in exchange for access to administration officials, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Rubio said he did not know whether the allegations were true but defended Guilfoyle’s performance as ambassador.

Marco Rubio on Iran:

There’s nothing we want or need to do against Iran that we can’t still do.

Marco Rubio to reporters:

You guys somehow walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel.

It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do it.

Germany’s former intelligence chief August Hanning is under investigation over suspected links to Chinese intelligence.

Investigators are examining whether Hanning shared sensitive information with Chinese Major General Wang Jianzheng, a former military attaché in Germany. The two maintained contacts for years, including meetings in China and involvement in joint projects.

Hanning and his former office manager were arrested on October 6. Prosecutors allege the aide supplied Hanning with nearly 2,000 internal BND documents, many classified, which he could use for his private consulting business.

Hanning is also suspected of preparing an intelligence analysis for an Azerbaijani intelligence official.

Source: DER SPIEGEL

A BBC and NPR investigation found that U.S. and Lebanese authorities are allegedly protecting and financially supporting Bassam al-Hassan, a former Syrian general wanted for crimes against humanity who oversaw Assad’s chemical weapons program.

Hassan reportedly receives money and protection in Lebanon in exchange for intelligence about U.S. journalist Austin Tice, missing since 2012, and other Syrian military secrets.

The arrangement, believed to have begun in spring 2025, has reportedly made little progress in locating Tice.

Syria’s new government wants Hassan extradited for trial, but officials say the U.S. wants him to remain in Lebanon.

Source: BBC

Marco Rubio:

People sometimes view this call to invest more in defense as a hostile thing.

It's not a hostile thing. On the contrary, we think NATO countries need to be strong.

Marco Rubio:

We can't continue to rely on large percentages of the world's energy coming from a part of the world that often finds itself in conflict.

Marco Rubio:

Undersea cables are increasingly being threatened all over the world by bad actors that are trying to access them or cut them in time of conflict.

Ukraine reportedly struck Russia’s Omsk oil refinery, located beyond the Ural Mountains, more than 3,000 km from the Ukrainian border.

It is Russia’s largest oil refinery.

Marco Rubio:

We want Europe to recognize and remember who we are: the West. We have a lot to be proud of in our history.

We should remember who we are as nations and as a civilization.

Marco Rubio on Ukraine:

The Ukraine war is an extremely dangerous war because it seems to be a stalemate. Stalemates only end in two ways. One is a negotiated settlement.

The other way stalemates end is escalation. That's very dangerous. Escalation can quickly turn what is a war between two countries into a much broader and far more dangerous regional conflict.

Russia Turns to Vietnam for Passenger Jets As Its Fleet Deteriorates

Hanoi is reviewing Moscow’s request for aircraft and crews, as maintenance problems erode the Western-built fleet Russia retained after invading Ukraine.

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Marco Rubio:

We think Portugal should buy the F-35 because we think it's the best fighter jet in the world.

Smoke was seen rising from a stationary aircraft at Riyadh airport according to a witness and three people familiar with the incident.

The aircraft was believed to be empty, and Saudi authorities have not confirmed the incident.

Source: Reuters

Marco Rubio on Iran:

The Iranian regime goes into hospitals when protesters are injured and murders the people there, and sometimes murders the doctors and the nurses who treated them.

Marco Rubio:

We would never violate the sovereignty of any country.

French Presidential Candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon:

As an internationalist, I do not think the right way to draw borders is to invade your neighbors.

The Russians crossed the border, and our choice is that they cross it again in the opposite direction.

We must help Ukraine, and we must continue helping it.

French Presidential Candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon:

Since the Russians invaded Ukraine, Ukrainians have the right to defend themselves by all means.

But we're not talking about a video game. We're talking about the survival of our countries. So we must think carefully about what we're doing.

When we French provide Ukraine with equipment to carry out deep strikes, I oppose it.

I know I'm contradicting myself. How can I say that I want to support Ukraine while refusing deep strikes?

Quite simply because I don't want France to become a co-belligerent.