A suicide bomber kills at least 11 at a police post in northwest Pakistan, two days after deadly fighting on the Afghan border

The rest of the day

20 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Trump turns down Iran's plan, out loud

   On Saturday Trump told reporters he had rejected Iran's plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. [21][15] The strait is a key route for the world's oil, and Iran has largely shut it since the war began in February. [22][15] He said Iran wants a deal because it is losing badly and has no money coming in. [15] Iran's plan asked the US to end its naval blockade of Iranian ports, free Iranian money held abroad and allow Iran's oil sales. [23] Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the mediators had not passed on any official US answer. [21][24]

   Why it matters — The first report of the rejection came from unnamed US officials quoted by The Wall Street Journal. [21] Now Trump has said it himself. [15] Those officials say he sees a new bombing campaign as likely after the US midterm elections in November. [21]

2. 03

   Iran's president flies home, vouching for Khamenei

   Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, left New York for home after the UN gathering, Iranian media said. [25] He told Al Jazeera that Iran no longer trusts talks with the US, and that Qatar and Pakistan carry its messages. [26] He told CBS, a US broadcaster, that the plan was drawn up with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. [15] Khamenei has not been seen in public since the war began. [25] Pezeshkian, who trained as a doctor, said Khamenei is healthy. [25]

   Why it matters — As supreme leader, Khamenei has the last word on Iran's biggest decisions, including any deal. He has not been seen or heard in public for seven months. [25] Pezeshkian said one of his two meetings with Khamenei lasted seven hours. [26]

3. 04

   Russian drones kill six across Ukraine

   Russian attacks killed at least six people across Ukraine in a day, in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kherson and Sumy, local officials said. [13] Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 173 attack drones overnight, and 134 were shot down or disabled. [13] Ukraine's foreign minister said Russia struck a depot serving McDonald's, the fast-food chain, twice. [13] A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Krasnodar region killed three people, officials there said. [14] Ukraine's army said it had hit the Ilsky oil refinery there. [27]

   Launched by Russia173 drones

   Shot down or disabled134 drones

   Why it matters — Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, asked other countries for stronger responses, saying Russia escalates every day. [14] Ukraine and its allies want strikes on power stations to stop before winter. [20] Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told the UN Security Council this week that Europe wants a pause only to send Ukraine more weapons. [20]

4. 05

   Russia and Germany talk again

   Lavrov and Johann Wadephul, the foreign ministers of Russia and Germany, met at the UN on Saturday. [17] It was the first such meeting between the two countries since before Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in 2022. [17] Wadephul pressed for a deal to let grain ships sail on the Black Sea, saying many poorer countries are short of food. [17] Germany says Russia was behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in August. [17] Russia's embassy calls that a fabrication. [17]

   Why it matters — Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, told reporters in St Petersburg that Russia is not preparing to fight Europe. [13] Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, on NATO's eastern edge, have seen a fast rise in drone incursions. [13]

5. 06

   UN rights chief warns on Ethiopia

   Volker Turk, the UN's human rights chief, said he is deeply alarmed by the escalating fighting in Ethiopia. [11] His office said government drone strikes hit five schools in Tigray on 22 September, killing and wounding people. [11] It also accused the TPLF, Tigray's ruling party, of forcing civilians, including children, into its forces. [11] Ethiopia's government says Tigray's forces kept weapons they should have handed in after the 2022 peace deal. [28] Tigray's leaders say Ethiopia's government never got other armies out of the region. [28]

   Why it matters — The last war, from 2020 to 2022, killed an estimated 600,000 people. [11] The African Union has asked Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria's former president, who helped broker the 2022 deal, to talk to both sides urgently. [28]

6. 07

   Houthis fire at two Saudi cities

   Saudi Arabia's military said early Saturday it shot down two Houthi drones heading for the Riyadh area and missiles aimed at Khamis Mushait, a city in the southwest. [12][29] Euronews reported two ballistic missiles. [12] Reuters and AP reported one. [29][25] The Houthis, an armed movement allied with Iran that holds much of northern Yemen, declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in July. [29][12] Hours before the attack, the army chiefs of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey met in Riyadh. [30]

   Why it matters — The Gulf Cooperation Council, which speaks for the Arab Gulf states, called the attacks a grave escalation. [25] The UN says 674 people died in Yemen's fighting between 6 August and 18 September. [12]

7. 08

   Iraq asks to keep pilgrim flights

   Iraq's government says it is talking directly to the US to win exemptions from US sanctions on Iranian airlines. [25] The sanctions are part of the US economic pressure on Iran during the war. [25] Iraq wants some flights allowed into certain airports for medical treatment, study and religious pilgrimage. [25] Many Iranians visit the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in Iraq. [25]

   Why it matters — A ban aimed at Iran's airlines also cuts off the pilgrims and patients who fly between Iran and Iraq. [25] The Iraqi prime minister's office says it wants exemptions only for certain airports. [25]

8. 09

   Israel shells villages in south Lebanon

   Israeli forces shelled parts of southern Lebanon early on Saturday, including Mansouri, Majdal Zoun and Wadi Hassan, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. [31] Heavy explosions were reported in the towns of Baraachit and Haddatha. [31] Israel still occupies part of southern Lebanon. [32] Iran's plan asks for all fighting to stop during its seven days, including in Lebanon. [32]

   Why it matters — Hezbollah, the armed group backed by Iran, has been fighting Israeli forces in Lebanon during the war. [29] So any deal between the US and Iran would also have to stop the shelling in these villages. [32]

9. 10

   China answers the US at the UN

   China's vice-president, Han Zheng, spoke at the UN General Assembly on Saturday, a day after Xi Jinping, China's leader, met Trump in Washington. [33] Without naming the US, he said the sovereignty of the Gulf states must be respected. [34] He also told the US, again without naming it, to stop threatening Cuba and lift its blockade. [34] He did not mention Taiwan, the self-ruled island China claims, which China's UN speeches often do. [33] He said three-quarters of the world's nations have worked with China on its Belt and Road building projects. [33]

   Why it matters — Cuba's power grid collapsed this month under a US oil blockade that began in January. [34] Han presented China as a steady friend of poorer countries. [34]

10. 11

    Spain's right marches over Ceuta

    Tens of thousands marched in Madrid on Saturday against the Spanish government's handling of migrants in Ceuta. [35] The government counted 20,000 people. The organisers said 180,000. [35] Sociedad Civil Espanola, a right-wing civic group, organised it, backed by the conservative People's Party and the far-right Vox. [35] Ceuta is a Spanish city on Morocco's coast, where more than 70,000 migrants crossed in at the end of July. [35] Spain's government says 6,000 to 10,000 are still stranded there. [35] Marchers want an early election by mid-November. [35] Vox wants Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tried for treason. [35]

    Why it matters — El Pais, a Spanish newspaper, reported that Spain's government plans a decree on Tuesday to send migrants back to Morocco faster. [35] Spain's next general election is not due until August 2027. [35]

11. 12

    Venezuela's leader leaves with no deals

    Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's interim president since US forces seized Nicolas Maduro in January, ended her first US visit with no signed agreements. [16] She had hoped for deals on debt, energy and mining. [16] At the UN she promised elections, but gave no date. [16] Experts say organising a vote would take at least 12 months. [16] The Inter-American Development Bank wants to lend Venezuela $2.5 billion, but some of its board members object. [16]

    Why it matters — Trump told the assembly "to the victor belong the spoils" about Venezuela, as she listened. [16] Venezuela's opposition parties say the clock is ticking to set an election date. [16]

12. 13

    Bangladesh starts a measles drive

    Bangladesh began a month-long nationwide measles and rubella vaccination campaign on Saturday. [36] It aims at 3.4 million children aged six months to five years who missed earlier shots. [36] The outbreak has killed 1,087 people, counting confirmed and suspected cases. [36] The US CDC, America's disease agency, calls it the world's largest measles outbreak. [36] Health experts blame gaps in routine vaccination in 2024 and 2025, when political turmoil disrupted campaigns. [36]

    • Confirmed by a lab101 · 9%
    • Suspected986 · 91%

    Why it matters — Babies under nine months are normally too young for the vaccine, and they helped the disease spread. [36] The new campaign lowers the starting age to six months. [36]

13. 14

    Nepal still counting its flood dead

    A month after floods swept parts of Nepal, officials count 1,453 bodies recovered and 5,644 people still missing. [18] Only 112 bodies have gone back to their families. [18] Another 1,333 are buried for now, until DNA tests can name them. [18] Experts from India, China, the US, Singapore and South Korea are helping with the tests. [18] Nepal's government puts the cost of recovery at $4.77 billion. [18]

    Bodies recovered1,453 people

    Still missing5,644 people

    Why it matters — Many of the missing are believed trapped in six hydropower tunnels. [18] Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the UN the floods were a warning about climate risks in the Himalayas. [18]

14. 15

    Tenth woman found dead near Johannesburg

    Police in South Africa found a woman's body at a cemetery in Tembisa, near Johannesburg, on Saturday, the tenth such killing in the area in recent months. [37] Her friend recognised her from the clothes she wore the night before. [37] Gauteng's police commissioner said a serial killer cannot be ruled out, but it is too soon to link this death to the others. [37] Three men appeared in court this week over one of the earlier killings. [37]

    Why it matters — The South African Human Rights Commission says 569 women were killed between April and June this year. [37] Ministers declared violence against women a national disaster less than a year ago. [37]

15. 16

    Four shot dead in St Vincent

    Police in St Vincent and the Grenadines, a small Caribbean island country, are hunting the gunmen who killed four people on Friday night. [38] The shooting was in Green Hill, just outside the capital, Kingstown, and four more people were hurt. [38] Police have recorded 37 murders this year in a country of 110,000 people. [38] The national security minister said gang violence has plagued many communities. [38]

    Why it matters — That is about one killing for every 3,000 people so far this year. [38] The islands live mainly on tourism, and are known for yachting and private islands for the very rich. [38]

16. 17

    Bus crash kills 11 in Iran

    A bus overturned on the Saveh-Hamedan motorway in Markazi province, central Iran, killing 11 people and injuring 24. [39] Traffic police blamed a tired, drowsy driver. [39] Earlier this month a fuel tanker crashed and exploded near Sanandaj, in western Iran, killing 11 people. [39]

    Why it matters — Road crashes kill more than 17,000 people a year in Iran, one of the worst road safety records in the world. [39] Experts blame unsafe vehicles, ignored traffic rules and weak emergency services. [39]

17. 18

    Report: Hamas bodyguard planned attacks in Europe

    The Times, a British newspaper, reported that a former bodyguard of Ismail Haniyeh, a past Hamas leader, planned attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets in Germany and Austria. [40] He was living in Britain with refugee status at the time, the report said. [40] The attacks were planned for the second anniversary of 7 October, and were stopped before they happened. [40] According to The Times, he became a British citizen about a decade ago, though his Hamas ties were known. [40]

    Why it matters — If the report is right, a man with known Hamas ties passed Britain's checks for both asylum and citizenship. [40]

18. 19

    Palestine Action supporters head for Labour's conference

    Supporters of Palestine Action, a group Britain banned under its terrorism law in July 2025, plan a silent vigil on Sunday near the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. [41] More than 3,600 people have been arrested for showing support for the group since the ban. [41] Organisers expect several hundred people, and more arrests. [41] The group mainly targets Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons maker. [41]

    Why it matters — It is the first Labour conference under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who announced sanctions on Israeli settlements this month, and organisers call it a test for him. [41] Campaigners want him to lift the ban and stop arms sales to Israel. [41]

19. 20

    700,000 at the Pope's Mass in Paris

    Pope Leo XIV said Mass on the Place de la Concorde in central Paris on Saturday, before an estimated 700,000 people. [42] It was the second day of his four-day visit to France. [42] He then travelled to Lourdes, a pilgrimage town, and prayed in its grotto. [42] He gives Mass there on Sunday. [42]

    Why it matters — President Emmanuel Macron met him on Friday but stayed away on Saturday. [42] The BBC says that was largely to avoid seeming to break France's strict rules separating church and state. [42]

20. 21

    IMF keeps talking to Gabon

    Staff of the International Monetary Fund, the lender countries turn to when they run short of money, ended a visit to Gabon on Saturday. [19] They discussed an audit of Gabon's public debt and its budget plans for 2027. [19] Gabon, a country in Central Africa, is seeking an IMF-backed programme. [19] The IMF said technical talks will continue in the coming weeks. [19]

    Why it matters — The talks are meant to open the way to formal negotiations on that programme, the IMF said. [19] An IMF programme normally brings a loan with conditions on how a government spends.