Black Sea

Iliana Iotova secured the presidency in Bulgaria's runoff election, receiving 57.5% of the ballots while rival Andrey Gyurov obtained 39.5%. Voter turnout rose to roughly 28% compared with the first round in late October. The vote took place amid heightened security concerns after recent drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea, which have left dozens dead or missing. Iotova, who has been acting president since January, becomes the country's first elected female head of state and has pledged to maintain Bulgaria’s EU and NATO commitments while favouring dialogue with Moscow.

Hackers sent false emergency warnings through Ukraine's Air Alert app and Russia's Emergencies Ministry app on Sunday night, hours apart. Ukraine's app, developed by Ajax Systems and Stfalcon, began broadcasting false alerts at 10:47 p.m. local time, warning of radiation, chemical threats, a nuclear attack and street fighting in Kyiv. The Ukrainian Air Force said the notifications were false about ten minutes later. Russia's ministry app was hit at 2:45 a.m. Moscow time, with false alerts reaching users in 33 regions, according to state media. Ukraine temporarily suspended its app and says it is back online; Russian officials say restoration work continues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow on Wednesday 28 Oct, telling African leaders that Russia is a natural ally and accusing the West of exploiting the continent's resources and using debt to slow growth. Delegations from 48 countries attended, including 22 heads of state. Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, current African Union chair, co-chairs the two-day meeting. Putin said Russian firms want manufacturing plants in Africa to bypass Western sanctions, and cited 2025 trade of $27 billion, down 2.4 % from 2024. Putin plans one-on-one talks with most attending leaders.