Politics & World Affairs — October 13, 2026

Bulgaria summons Russian ambassador. Bulgaria summoned Russia's ambassador after a second spate of drone attacks on merchant ships off its coast in a week, including one vessel that sank.

The summons followed two separate waves of attacks within a single week, underscoring concern in Sofia that Russia's war in Ukraine is increasingly spilling into Eastern Europe. According to DW, the strikes on commercial shipping near Bulgaria's Black Sea coast have raised fears of a widening conflict, with the loss of one merchant vessel marking an escalation beyond earlier incidents affecting the region's waters.

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Six Flags coaster death. A man died and several others suffered injuries Monday on the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia; company shares fell more than 10% after hours.

Aerial footage from the scene showed the roller coaster stopped on its track as emergency responders helped riders off, according to BBC World. The financial fallout was immediate, with Six Flags stock dropping sharply in after-hours trading following reports of the fatality and injuries at the Georgia park. Details on the cause of the incident and the condition of the injured were not provided.

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GOP senators oppose diesel deal. Four Republican senators publicly broke with President Trump over his deal allowing Russia to export diesel to the U.S., weeks before the midterm elections.

The agreement came as a surprise, according to The Hill, and its timing just weeks before the midterm elections has sharpened the political stakes of the intra-party dispute. While the public break by the four senators marks an escalation within the GOP, The Hill's reporting indicates it has not yet altered the status of the deal itself, setting up a potential standoff between the White House and Senate Republicans.

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Navi Pillay wins Nobel. This year's Nobel Peace Prize went to Navi Pillay, a South African anti-apartheid figure, former Rwanda tribunal judge and leader of a U.N. commission on Israel.

Pillay, a South African of Indian descent, built a career spanning domestic activism against apartheid and international judicial work, including service on the tribunal prosecuting Rwanda's genocide. Her most recent role, heading the U.N. commission that concluded Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, has drawn criticism; the Washington Examiner, in an opinion piece, characterized that finding as false and argued the prize rewards it.

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