Occupy

The United Nations has updated its database of companies involved in business activities linked to illegal Israeli settlements, now listing 214 companies from 11 countries. The latest assessment focuses on the impact on Palestinian people's right to self-determination, and says firms must take appropriate measures over their involvement.

Ukraine's armed forces attacked energy facilities in Crimea during the night of October 1, according to Sevastopol news outlet Obektiv. The strikes targeted infrastructure in the annexed peninsula, with reports circulating as attacks on Russian and occupied-territory energy sites continue. Damage details and casualties have not been fully reported.

Spirit Halloween is opening seasonal stores in former retail locations around Richmond, filling storefronts left empty by closures. The pop-up chain is known for taking over vacant big-box and strip mall spaces each fall, turning dead retail real estate into temporary Halloween shops. Local coverage highlights how the seasonal retailer has become a familiar fixture in shopping centers that have lost long-term tenants.

The UN has updated its database of companies linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, adding 61 new firms and bringing the total to 214. The Palestine Chronicle reports the update, and social media users are sharing which companies were added, amid ongoing debate over corporate involvement in the settlements and pressure for boycotts and divestment.

The top United Nations Middle East peace envoy said Palestinians long for 'a return to normal life' amid ongoing conflict and hardship in the occupied territories. The statement, carried by UN News, underscores the humanitarian toll of the situation and renews calls from international mediators for a political resolution that would allow daily life in the Palestinian territories to resume.

UNRWA has released its 235th situation report on the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The report, published in English and Arabic, documents continuing humanitarian conditions across the Palestinian territories. It updates the agency's ongoing coverage of displacement, aid access and the wider impact of the conflict on civilians in the region.

A new United Nations report has named hundreds of international companies it says are aiding illegal Israeli land grabs and the occupation of Palestinian territory. The list includes major corporations such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Tripadvisor, Motorola Solutions, JCB and Re/Max. The naming of well-known travel and machinery brands has drawn attention and debate over corporate involvement in the occupied territories.

A retail development in southwest Roanoke County, Virginia has announced the businesses that will occupy the site. Local outlet WDBJ7 reported the list of incoming tenants, giving residents a first look at what shopping and dining options the project will bring to the growing suburban area.

Bitcoin is trading in the familiar $82,000-$85,000 range as the new quarter begins, CoinDesk reports, with the cryptocurrency showing no clear breakout direction. Market watchers note the price has returned to a level it occupied before, suggesting continued consolidation and indecision among traders about the next major move.

Ukraine's armed forces report taking around 250 Russian prisoners on the Lyman front, with claims that entire Russian units surrendered. Russia's defence ministry, meanwhile, says its troops control key villages in the occupied Donetsk region. The two accounts highlight sharply different pictures of the situation on one of the war's most contested directions.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has welcomed the Stop the Settlements Act and is urging Congress to act against what it calls Israel's ethnic cleansing of the West Bank. The advocacy group is pressing lawmakers to confront expanding Israeli settlements and to pass legislation addressing the situation in the occupied territory.

Dutch volleyball international Tess Lieder-Wester has given an open interview about a terrible period in her childhood, saying it still occupies her thoughts every day. The Sportnieuws.nl interview reveals a personal side of the former national team player, prompting attention in the Netherlands around her candid remarks.

Democratic members of the US Congress have introduced legislation to impose sanctions over the expansion of Israeli settlements. The bill targets settlement growth in the occupied West Bank amid ongoing tensions linked to the war in Gaza. It signals growing pressure within the Democratic Party for a harder line on Israeli settlement policy.

Taiwanese leaders are working to embed civilian resistance against a potential occupying force into everyday life, drawing lessons from Ukraine's response to Russia's full-scale invasion. The approach includes preparing ordinary citizens to play a role in national defence, reflecting growing concern in Taipei about a possible attack from China and the need for the whole of society, not just the military, to be ready to resist.

Formula 1's Malaysian Grand Prix paddock has been buzzing with a range of storylines, from championship battles and team politics to driver futures, according to a roundup of the talking points circulating among teams and media at the Sepang event. The item gathers together the main themes occupying insiders during the race weekend.

The Terminal Tribune reports that a tip arrived at its newsroom last week, and that the outlet has since focused on what the tip withheld rather than what it said. No details about the tip's subject, source, or findings have been published, and the paper says the gaps in the information are what have occupied its journalists since it arrived.

Ukrainian military operations have reportedly struck more enemy logistics targets in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The claim of a fresh batch of damaged supply infrastructure circulated on Ukrainian-language channels tagged with OSINT and Ukraine war hashtags. No independent confirmation of the scale or location of the strikes is given.

Ukraine's General Staff confirmed that its forces struck a site with drones and an enemy fuel and lubricants depot, destroying storage facilities of the Russian drone unit 'Rubicon'. The announcement lists a series of important occupied military targets hit. It highlights Kyiv's ongoing campaign against Russian drone logistics and supply infrastructure behind the front line.

Ukraine has returned 14 more children to territory it controls after they were taken to or stranded in occupied parts of Kherson region. The return comes on day 1680 of the Russo-Ukrainian war and is part of Kyiv's ongoing efforts, often with international mediation, to bring back deported or displaced Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas.

New York's Split Level art fair is returning for its second edition, once again staging the event in a design showroom on Madison Avenue. The fair occupies an unconventional retail space rather than a conventional convention hall, a format that has drawn attention in the city's art world as dealers and curators experiment with new settings for presenting contemporary art to collectors and the public.