WORLD NEWS RT - October 21 2026 (17:00 MSK)

More than 28 years after Ben Smart and Olivia Hope disappeared in the Marlborough Sounds, Scott Watson's murder convictions are again before New Zealand's highest court. The Crown insists the case against him was overwhelming, but the Supreme Court must consider a narrower and fundamental question: whether admitting disputed identification evidence created a miscarriage of justice. Report by eLocal · Twenty-Eight Years Later, the Evidence…

New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office has charged four people over an alleged bribery arrangement involving public housing construction contracts in Auckland. The allegations raise a wider question about how millions of dollars in public expenditure were monitored, and whether existing safeguards were sufficient to detect suspicious payments. Report by eLocal · Millions in Public Housing Contracts Under Scrutiny · The Serious Fraud Office (SFO)…

Russian intelligence claims the US has evidence that Mexican drug cartels are acquiring advanced drone warfare skills in Ukraine, potentially bringing those capabilities home. RT reports from the Kherson region, where residents have reportedly fled amid a Ukrainian blockade restricting food and medical supplies. Meanwhile, France struggles to recover from a weekend of violent riots, with further protests looming as mounting economic pressures…

What appears to be a commercial arrangement to ease diesel shortages may carry consequences far beyond American fuel prices or November's midterm elections. In a wide-ranging interview with Lena Petrova, historian Dr Vladimir Brovkin outlines a potentially historic shift in US foreign policy, one that could reshape the Ukraine conflict, challenge NATO's strategic assumptions and alter the balance of power between the United States, Russia and…

Five operational 3D-printed firearms, two cut-down guns and ammunition were among items seized during a police raid in Canterbury. The discovery highlights the challenges facing New Zealand authorities as increasingly accessible manufacturing technology creates new opportunities for illegal firearms production. Major Police Operation in Kaiapoi · A 45-year-old man is facing 12 firearms-related charges after police discovered a substantial…