Africa: DPI Closes $112m VC Fund to Back African, Middle Eastern Startups
DPI Venture Capital, the venture capital arm of Development Partners International, has closed its Nclude Fund at more than $112 million, Daba Finance reported. The fund is intended to invest in technology startups across Africa and the Middle East, signaling continued investor interest in the region's tech sector. The closure of the fund at this size gives DPI a substantial pool of capital to back emerging companies in both markets.
Source: All Africa Middle East — Published: 29 October 2026 21:35 — Summarized with AI
The portraits of dead friends are coming off the walls. After 29 years, Russia's independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper is being forced out of its Moscow newsroom.
Russia's independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper is being forced out of its Moscow newsroom after 29 years on Potapovsky Lane in central Moscow, the outlet Ekho reported. Ekho cited a letter to readers from editor-in-chief Sergey Sokolov and journalist Irina Gordiyenko. The eviction marks another blow to independent journalism in Russia, where the newspaper has long operated under pressure, and it means the publication must leave the office where it has worked for nearly three decades.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 21:14 — Summarized with AI
Residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky have until Friday afternoon to leave. Aid distribution for those who stay is scheduled to begin under a temporary ceasefire.
Residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky in Ukraine's Kherson region have until Friday afternoon to leave, with aid distribution for those who remain scheduled to begin under a temporary ceasefire. Routes for a humanitarian mission have been cleared of mines. Russian and Ukrainian human rights commissioners Yana Lantratova and Dmytro Lubinets said the humanitarian convoy is ready to depart, highlighting rare coordination between the two sides amid the ongoing war.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 21:10 — Summarized with AI
Longtime associates of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich founded a paid consular appointment service, investigation finds
A company that charges Russians abroad to find available appointments at Russian consulates has ties to people in Roman Abramovich's circle, Verstka reported. The investigation found that longtime associates of the Russian billionaire founded the paid consular appointment service. The report raises questions about who profits from access to Russian consular services abroad and about the connections between private businesses and figures close to Abramovich.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 20:57 — Summarized with AI
Iran Says Four Tankers Hit Mines in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran's military claimed on Thursday that four tankers had struck mines in or near the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report. The UK's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) separately reported that at least one tanker was attacked in the area. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy first said in a statement that three tankers traveling in the region had been affected. The accounts differ on the number of vessels involved, and the incident raises tensions around the key oil shipping chokepoint.
Source: Antiwar — Published: 29 October 2026 20:55 — Summarized with AI
CENTCOM Chief Briefs Trump on Options for Bombing Iran
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, visited the White House on Thursday to brief President Trump on military options for attacking Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported. The meeting marks a rare in-person briefing between Trump and the CENTCOM chief, who is known to be supportive of restarting the bombing campaign against Iran. Reporting from Axios and other outlets has focused on the deliberations over renewed military action, underscoring escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Source: Antiwar — Published: 29 October 2026 20:24 — Summarized with AI
Russia’s anti-LGBT crackdown is punishing homophobes, too. Mediazona documents five cases of people penalized for posts that weren’t meant to promote LGBTQ rights.
Nearly three years ago, Russia's Supreme Court banned the nonexistent international LGBT movement as extremist. Since then, LGBT extremism has become grounds for at least 14 criminal investigations and hundreds of citations for administrative offenses. Because authorities often do not examine the context in which a rainbow flag appears on social media, even homophobes end up being targeted. Mediazona compiled five cases in which opponents of same-sex relationships were punished for allegedly promoting them, illustrating the indiscriminate reach of the crackdown.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 20:16 — Summarized with AI
Ghalibaf Says No Progress in US Talks Unless Iran’s ‘Seven Conditions’ Are Met
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Thursday that there would be no progress in negotiations with the US until Washington accepts Iran's seven conditions. The comments come amid reports that US Vice President JD Vance has sent a message to Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Ghalibaf's statement signals Tehran's insistence on its preconditions for any diplomatic progress, as diplomatic channels and military tensions with Washington continue to develop simultaneously.
Source: Antiwar — Published: 29 October 2026 19:41 — Summarized with AI
Ukraine says Zelensky is ready to discuss territory with Putin in person
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha told the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sent word to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he is ready to discuss territory at an in-person meeting. The statement signals a possible opening for direct talks between the two leaders over territorial questions, though no meeting has been confirmed and no details of timing or format were given.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 18:51 — Summarized with AI
‘If things go too far, there will be no winners’: Putin warns Europe, says Russia is ready for war but doesn’t want one
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Europe that if things go too far there will be no winners, stating that Moscow is ready for war with Europe but does not want one. The remarks frame Russia as prepared for a wider conflict while presenting itself as unwilling to seek one, and they come amid heightened tensions between Moscow and European states. No further conditions or specific threats were detailed in the report.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 18:25 — Summarized with AI
Russia opens treason case against 76-year-old former Communist faction leader over alleged Ukrainian intelligence ties
Russia's Federal Security Service has opened a criminal treason case against Gennady Stepakhno, a 76-year-old former deputy speaker of the Murmansk Regional Duma and former Communist faction leader. The regional FSB branch announced the investigation, accusing him of alleged ties to Ukrainian intelligence. The case adds to a growing pattern of treason prosecutions in Russia, often targeting officials, activists, and citizens accused of contacts with foreign or Ukrainian services.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 18:16 — Summarized with AI
Russian publisher Eksmo alters Joe Hill's 'King Sorrow,' removing a reference to Putin and replacing Russia's invasion of Ukraine with 'war in Europe'
Russian publisher Eksmo altered several passages in the Russian translation of American author Joe Hill's novel King Sorrow to avoid censorship, changing the author's meaning. A reference to Putin was removed, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine was replaced with the phrase war in Europe. Nikolai Karayev, who runs the speculative fiction Telegram channel Zvezdnye Mayaki Kapitana Norta, drew attention to the edits by sharing the original passages alongside their Russian translations.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 18:06 — Summarized with AI
Russia still hasn't found an effective way to curb VPNs. Now officials are considering limits on all foreign internet traffic.
Russia has still not found an effective way to curb VPNs, and officials are now considering limits on all foreign internet traffic. On October 27, Forbes reported that Russia's Digital Development Ministry is weighing routing all foreign internet traffic through TSPU filtering equipment, the technical means of countering threats. This would effectively separate the Russian internet from the global internet at a technical level, tightening state control over online access and information flows.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 17:36 — Summarized with AI
Saudi Airstrikes on Two Homes in Yemen’s Southwest Taiz Province Kill 12 Civilians
Saudi airstrikes hit two homes in Yemen's southwestern Taiz province, killing at least 12 civilians, according to the Health Ministry within the Ansar Allah-led government. The ministry said the strikes targeted homes belonging to the families of Ibrahim and others. The incident comes as the US-backed bombing campaign continues to have a devastating impact on Yemen's civilian population, with repeated reports of civilian casualties from airstrikes across the country.
Source: Antiwar — Published: 29 October 2026 17:20 — Summarized with AI
Sacha Baron Cohen publicly apologizes to Kazakhstan for ‘Borat,’ 20 years after the film’s release
British actor Sacha Baron Cohen has publicly apologized to the people of Kazakhstan for his portrayal of Borat in the 2006 film of the same name, roughly 20 years after its release. The movie follows Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional journalist from Kazakhstan who travels to the United States to make a documentary, encounters American culture, and finds himself in all sorts of comical situations. The apology comes two decades after the film drew criticism for its depiction of Kazakhstan and its people.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 16:57 — Summarized with AI
Russian rights group documents at least 69 deaths among victims of political persecution since 2022
At least 69 people subjected to politically motivated persecution by Russian authorities have died in Russia since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to a report published by Memorial's Political Prisoner Support human rights project. The report was released to mark the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repression. It documents deaths among those facing politically motivated cases, highlighting the human toll of repression in Russia since 2022.
Source: https://meduza.io/rss/en/all — Published: 29 October 2026 16:36 — Summarized with AI
