“Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila on Monday launched a new political and military coalition of groups opposed to the current government, including the M23 rebels who have captured wide swaths of territory in eastern Congo. Kabila’s new Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, or FRN, includes rebel groups formerly united under the Congo River Alliance, whose former leader Corneille Nangaa will serve as one of the new coalition’s four vice presidents. … President Felix Tshisekedi’s government gave no immediate reaction to the announcement, which is seen as a major challenge to Tshisekedi’s administration and a serious complication for the current peace process with rebels, which has had only limited success.” (10/12/26)
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We’re past the 10% point toward our goal ($2,751.50, after which supporter GL has pledged to “match funds” for the $5,503 total) … but we’re also past the 14% mark in terms of schedule (92 days). So:
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
We’re a reader-supported publication. You’re a reader. And we only come to you once a year with the strong-arm fundraising stuff. As soon as we hit our goal, I stop doing that for the rest of the year, and MOST of the following year. Let’s get this over with 🙂
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Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
“‘Squad’ Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) defiantly broke her silence after a Homeland Security Investigations raid of her DC residence on Monday, as she and her allies claimed the action was part of President Trump’s repeated attempts to intimidate her as a political foe. ‘I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,’ Omar said in a statement on X. ‘For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.’ ‘I will not be silenced,’ the congresswoman added in a personal response to the president. … Sources familiar with the law enforcement action indicated that the congresswoman had been the subject of a multi-year probe related to her immigration history, potentially as a result of her father making a false statement on paperwork.” (10/12/26)
“Leaders of India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were detained early on Tuesday after they entered a heavily-guarded protest site and chanted slogans demanding the country’s election chief resign over a controversial revision of electoral rolls. Party founder Abhijeet Dipke shared a video showing Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das being taken away by police from Jantar Mantar, a historic Delhi observatory popular for protests. … The detentions came a day after the federal home ministry announced that Jantar Mantar, long associated with public protests in Delhi, would no longer be a designated protest venue. Authorities instead identified three alternative locations where demonstrations can be held with permission.” (10/13/26)
“The Trump administration is threatening to cut off intelligence sharing and weapons sales to Europe for Ukraine should Kyiv not halt its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, multiple outlets reported Monday. The State Department and the Pentagon made the warnings to officials in Ukraine and Europe over the weekend, with the U.S. military directly communicating the threat to Ukrainian commanders, CNN reported. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill. The Financial Times was the first to report on the U.S. warning, which included threats to cut off the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List mechanism for buying American weapons for Ukraine. The initiative is managed by NATO and is used to procure U.S.-produced weapons to be sent to Kyiv.” (10/12/26)
“Iranian authorities have signalled they intend to disrupt an Arab-operated and United States-assisted shuttle system that has enabled more energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israel war on Iran. With the US naval blockade of Iran’s southern ports in place and sanctions tightening, Tehran has said it will pursue military and diplomatic efforts to put pressure on Washington to submit to its demands regarding reopening the Strait of Hormuz. … Iran has claimed the US accepted some of Tehran’s seven conditions for the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war. But Tehran insists that a deal will only materialise when all its demands are met.” (10/12/26)
“Prime Minister Andy Burnham sparked fury in Britain on Monday with his assertion that Russia had sought to interfere in the 2016 Brexit vote that took the country out of the European Union, breaking with previous premiers who said there was no evidence Moscow had meddled. Burnham made the remarks on ‘The Rest Is Politics,’ a popular British podcast released overnight, saying he wanted to highlight the danger of Russian misinformation as European countries prepare for elections at a time of hyperpolarization. … His remarks infuriated Brexit supporters, who accused him of resurfacing the issue to cast doubt on the results of a referendum that has divided the British for 10 years.” (10/12/26)
“Pope Leo will go into hospital on Tuesday before surgery to remove a small growth found on one of his lungs, the Vatican said, as the pontiff kept up a busy schedule on Monday, holding seven previously planned meetings in the morning. Leo, 71, said on Sunday that the growth, a small nodule, had been found on a recent check-up, was ‘well-contained’ and had been spotted early. … The Vatican has said the pope’s recovery is expected to take about a week.” (10/12/26)
“Amazon is reportedly in talks to purchase the artificial intelligence startup Decart in a $7 billion deal — which would be one of Amazon’s biggest recent acquisitions and one of the largest exits in Israeli tech The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the Seattle tech titan is putting together a deal to purchase Decart, which sells software that lets developers switch more easily between AI chips.” (10/12/26)
“The EU approved its biggest package of sanctions against Russia since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, targeting the Kremlin’s ability to make missiles. The bloc’s foreign ministers approved the package during a meeting in Luxembourg, adding 1,600 new listings ‘targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex,’ the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on X. … The sanctions list will last for three years before it needs to be renewed.” (10/12/26)
