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Cranberry Journal

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

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At the close · Oct 7

World

Top stories in World

Overhead electricity wires and a utility pole strung between brick buildings on a narrow street in Lahore, under a blue sky with white clouds. World

Pakistan Has Nine Bidders for a State Power Distributor. The Losses Will Stay on Everyone's Bill.

Pakistan's privatisation board has prequalified nine bidders, three of them Turkish, for a controlling stake in the Gujranwala Electric Power Company, one of nine state electricity distributors the government has told the IMF it will sell by December 2027. Under the plan as reported, the national uniform tariff stays, so customers of efficient distributors will keep paying for the losses of weak ones.

By Cory Chamberlain  

More in World

Workers stand at a yellow-framed production machine inside a large factory hall, beside stacks of flattened cardboard on pallets and overhead ducting.

China's Factories Grew Again in September. What They Pay for Materials Grew Faster.

China's official manufacturing index rose to 50.1 in September, back above the line after two months of contraction. Production picked up and the services and construction gauge recovered. But the index of raw material prices jumped to 60.8, the steepest reading since the spring, while the index of prices factories charge rose to 54.0. The gap between what manufacturers pay and what they get is widening again.

By Alison Acosta  

A quiet lane curving past brick and tile-roofed houses behind tall clipped hedges in a village on an overcast winter day, with bare trees and a lamppost. No people or vehicles are visible.

The Five Fairford Suspects Are Out on Bail. British Police Say They Have an Open Mind. Washington Says a Foreign Actor.

The five London men arrested near RAF Fairford were released on police bail on Monday afternoon, about a day and a half after their arrest, without charge and under what police called stringent conditions. Britain's head of counter-terrorism policing said he was keeping an open mind about a foreign state. Marco Rubio said the plot "clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor".

By Thomas Gutierrez  

A chain-link fence in the foreground, out of focus, with a second post-and-wire fence running across flat grassland beyond it towards a line of low buildings and trees on the horizon under an overcast sky. A strip of tarmac runs along the bottom edge. No people, vehicles or aircraft are visible.

Five Men Are in Custody Near RAF Fairford. No Attack Took Place, and No Official Has Alleged Iran Directed Anything.

Gloucestershire police were called to three suspicious vehicles near Whelford at about 12.45am on Sunday. Five men were arrested, first on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and then on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. A major incident was declared, about 85 homes were evacuated, and an Army ordnance disposal team worked inside a cordon reported at 440 yards. Nothing detonated. Nobody has been charged.

By Thomas Gutierrez  

A row of European Union flags on poles, seen against a pale sky.

The EU Cannot Admit Canada, So It Has Invented a Category Instead

In her State of the European Union address in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the EU's first associate member. The treaties make full membership impossible, because Canada is not a European state. What she is offering is a new category, to be negotiated, with a summit in Montreal next month.

By Daniel Okafor  

A view over the red roofs and hills of Pristina from a dirt slope on the city's edge.

Kosovo's Former President Was Convicted by a Court Kosovo Agreed to Create

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague convicted former president Hashim Thaci of four counts of war crimes on Wednesday and sentenced him to 25 years. Three other former Kosovo Liberation Army commanders were also convicted. The court is Kosovo's own creation, staffed by international judges, sitting in another country, and it exists because Kosovo's allies required it.

By Margaret Holloway  

An empty railway platform at night, lit by overhead lamps, with tracks running into the dark.

The Drones Hit a Warsaw-Bound Train Minutes After the Diplomats Passed Through

Russian drones struck a Warsaw-bound train near the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday, minutes after a delegation including Boris Johnson and Carl Bildt had passed through the station. A second strike hit near another crossing point, and Poland recovered a suspected Russian drone from the Baltic. NATO's secretary general says the alliance will increase its support for Kyiv.

By Margaret Holloway  

The white Grand Mosque in Cotabato City, with golden domes and tall minarets, under a blue sky.

The Former Rebels Are Losing Bangsamoro's First Election to Other Former Rebels

With nearly all votes counted in Bangsamoro's first parliamentary election, the Bangsamoro Federalist Party leads on 35.2 percent against 32.4 percent for the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's own party. The leader in front is the region's chief minister, himself a former MILF commander. Turnout passed 82 percent. Proclamations are delayed.

By Margaret Holloway  

An open passport with several colourful entry and visa stamps, photographed in shallow focus.

Iran's Nuclear Chief Was Kept Out of the Room Where Its Inspections Are Argued

Austria revoked the visa of Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, before the IAEA's General Conference opened in Vienna on Monday. The United States objected to a UN sanctions waiver for his travel, and under the committee's rules one objection was enough. Iran says the host country broke its obligations. The conference it cannot attend is the one that debates its nuclear programme.

By Cory Chamberlain  

The Welsh flag, a red dragon on white and green, flying from a pole against a clear blue sky.

Three First Ministers Signed a Declaration of Self-Determination. None of Them Can Call a Vote.

The leaders of the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin, who are now the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, signed a joint declaration in Cardiff on Monday asserting their nations' right to self-determination. The UK prime minister has already ruled out referendums in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The power to hold one sits with Westminster in every case.

By Margaret Holloway  

An oil processing complex lit up against a black night sky.

Staying to Keep the Oil and Ending the War Soon Are Two Different Plans

Speaking at his golf resort in Ireland on Sunday, President Trump said the US would ultimately leave Iran "unless we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela," and that gasoline prices would "drop like a rock" when the war ends. The two statements point in opposite directions. One describes a withdrawal. The other describes an occupation of the world's most contested oil infrastructure.

By Daniel Okafor  

A large dish antenna on a steel tower against a dark hillside, in black and white.

The Satellite Pictures Were Bought Before the Strike and Again After It

US officials have linked satellite imagery supplied to Iran by Chinese entities to the July strike on a base in Jordan that killed three American soldiers, The Wall Street Journal reported. Iran obtained high-resolution pictures of the base before the attack and after it. The officials did not accuse the Chinese government. The disclosure lands ten days before Xi Jinping is due at the White House.

By Cory Chamberlain  

Two vehicles on the open deck of a small ferry crossing a bay, in black and white.

Seventy-Six Dead, and the Count Finally Closes at 132

The Philippine Coast Guard recovered 41 more bodies from the MV June Aster on Saturday, raising the toll to 76 with 43 survivors and 13 missing. Those figures add up to 132, which is exactly the number who boarded. The ship was certified for 330. Overloading is no longer the question; the two explosions and the missing captain are.

By Cory Chamberlain  

A red-hulled tanker at anchor on calm sea, other ships faint on the horizon.

Iran Says a Faction Ended the Truce. That Account Suits Everyone Telling It.

The New York Times, citing Iranian officials, reports that a hardline group attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz in early July without the knowledge of the president, the Revolutionary Guards commander or the national security council, wrecking the memorandum meant to end the war. Iranian officials told Washington the same thing in July. Analysts argued then that the chain of command had decided.

By Cory Chamberlain