A magnitude 7.0 earthquake in northern Tibet kills at least 16, injures 65 and flattens 339 homes in Nagqu

The rest of the day

56 more stories on this beat.

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

1. 02

   Aramco empties its head office as Houthi attacks widen

   Yemen's Houthis, a rebel group backed by Iran that holds Yemen's capital, said on Thursday they fired at Saudi Arabia's defence ministry in Riyadh and at Aramco sites in Yanbu. [10][22] Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state oil company, then told staff to leave its headquarters in Dhahran and work from home, people who know the matter said. [10] It is the company's first such move since the Iran war began. [10] The Saudi-led coalition said it shot down four drones over Riyadh and Madinah. [10]

   Why it matters — A Houthi spokesman said Saudi strikes have killed or wounded 562 people in Yemen since mid-July. [10] The Houthis say the attacks will go on until Saudi Arabia lifts its blockade of the areas they hold. [22]

2. 03

   Seven foreign ministers meet in Istanbul

   Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, hosts the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on Friday. [23][24] The four countries call themselves the R4, a group formed in March that has worked to carry messages between the US and Iran. [24] Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, then join them, the first meeting of all seven. [25][24] The talks cover the Strait of Hormuz, Yemen, Gaza and the war in Ukraine, a Turkish official told AFP. [25]

   Why it matters — Egypt's parliament votes on 26 October on whether its army may help defend Saudi Arabia against the Houthis. [26] Turkey is also expected to restate its support for Saudi Arabia's security under the Makkah defence pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey. [27]

3. 04

   Indians caught in the Saudi-Houthi war

   India's embassy in Yemen said on Friday it is trying to learn what happened to a yacht that apparently had Indian sailors on board. [28] Yahya Saree, the Houthis' military spokesman, said Saudi forces hit the yacht near Zuqar Island in the Red Sea with 14 Indians aboard, and Houthi forces were rescuing them. [22] India's government also said about 3,000 stranded pilgrims came home from Saudi Arabia last week, after Houthi attacks disrupted flights. [11] They were on Umrah, a pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites made outside the main Hajj month. [11]

   Why it matters — An Indian man was killed in the Houthi attack on Dammam airport on Wednesday. [22] India's embassy says exact facts about the yacht are not yet available because of the fighting. [28]

4. 05

   BBC finds the RSF targeted el-Fasher's hospitals

   A BBC investigation found at least 43 separate attacks on hospitals and health sites in el-Fasher between May 2024 and October 2025. [15] El-Fasher is a city in Sudan's Darfur region that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group fighting Sudan's army since April 2023, besieged and took a year ago. [15] In the war, 55 medical workers in the city were killed, 120 hurt and 10 taken or missing, the BBC's data show. [15] The UN's human rights chief, Volker Turk, said the attacks may be war crimes. [15]

   Injured120 medical workers

   Killed55 medical workers

   Abducted or missing10 medical workers

   Why it matters — The RSF called the findings propaganda. [15] After the city fell, RSF fighters searched crowds of captives for doctors, The Economist reports. [29]

5. 06

   Putin says talks with Ukraine resume next month

   Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on Russian television on Thursday that Russia is ready to resume US-led talks with Ukraine next month. [30] He spoke a day after meeting Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's envoy. [30] Putin said the talks must aim at a final peace with security for both countries, not a short ceasefire. [30] He said he also agreed with Witkoff that the talks should cover security across all of Europe. [30]

   Why it matters — Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready for talks, likely by early next month. [30] Putin repeated that he sees eastern Ukraine as historically Russian land, and Ukraine refuses to give up land it holds. [30]

6. 07

   US blockade of Iran's ports reaches 100 days

   US Central Command, the US military's headquarters for the Middle East, said on Thursday its naval blockade has stopped all Iran's sea trade for 100 days, apart from aid it allowed. [31] It says the blockade has kept at least $25 billion of Iranian crude oil from being sold. [31] Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to strike US bases across the region if US warships keep escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz. [10] Gulf states are bracing for the war to restart. [32]

   Why it matters — The UN's shipping agency counted 120 attacks on ships, which killed 22 sailors, by 22 October. [33] Many ship owners still will not send crews through the strait. [33]

7. 08

   Drone strike hits a primary school in Ethiopia

   A drone strike hit Sana Elementary School in Ethiopia's Amhara region on Tuesday morning, killing at least six children and injuring more than 20. [16] Local people gave the first count to Addis Standard, an Ethiopian news site. [16] Other accounts put the dead at seven to ten pupils, and the toll could not be checked. [16] A teacher said more than 150 pupils were in class and no fighters were nearby. [16] The same day a drone strike in Tigray killed four people loading animals onto a truck. [16]

   Why it matters — Federal forces are fighting armed groups in both regions again, and drones are hitting more homes and villages. [16] Many of the pupils had only just come back to school after two or three years away. [16]

8. 09

   Gunmen wound five Israelis near Hebron

   Gunmen opened fire at a junction near Hebron, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, wounding at least five Israelis, two of them critically, medics said. [34] A witness said the shooting went on for more than 20 minutes. [34] Israel's army said it killed two Palestinians suspected of the attack and sealed off Hebron and nearby villages. [34] On Thursday, Israeli raids had arrested 36 Palestinians across the West Bank, 23 of them in the Hebron area, Palestinian groups said. [35]

   Why it matters — Israel's army stopped soldiers' leave from Thursday to prepare for the coming general election. [34] A Palestinian monitoring body recorded 17 attacks by soldiers and settlers on olive farmers on Thursday alone. [35]

9. 10

   Darfur's crops fail as food aid is cut

   Farmers in Sheairia, in East Darfur, harvested almost nothing of their groundnuts, millet and sorghum this season, a resident told Radio Dabanga. [36] At the same time the World Food Programme, the UN's food agency, is cutting help across Sudan because it is running out of money. [36] A sack of millet costs about 350,000 Sudanese pounds. [36] An official for displaced people warned families may skip meals, sell their last things and take children out of school. [36]

   Why it matters — The cuts and the failed harvest land on the same families, many already driven from home by the war. [36] Children, older people and disabled people face the highest risk of hunger and disease, the official said. [36]

10. 11

    France bans most protests before Saturday

    Marseille and Lyon banned all protests this weekend, and Paris kept a night curfew in two areas until Monday. [12] President Emmanuel Macron said only union marches may go ahead on Saturday, on routes officials choose. [12][37] The Louvre, Orsay and Picasso museums will close on Saturday, and police numbers rise by 20%. [12] On Thursday a Paris court lifted a police ban, and thousands of mostly young people protested peacefully. [38]

    Why it matters — France's justice minister said 2,700 people were arrested after last weekend's riots and 217 have been jailed. [12] Carrefour, a supermarket chain, expects losses of up to $225 million after about 50 stores were looted or damaged. [39]

11. 12

    150,000 rally in Belgrade before Serbia votes

    About 150,000 people filled central Belgrade on Thursday for the last rally of the Student List, a movement of student-backed candidates, a crowd-counting group estimated. [18] Serbians elect a new parliament on Sunday. [40] The protests began after a railway station canopy fell in Novi Sad in November 2024 and killed 16 people. [18] A poll this week put the Student List at 44.5% and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party at 42.7%. [41]

    Student List44.5%

    Vucic's party42.7%

    Why it matters — Aleksandar Vucic, who has led Serbia for 12 years, stepped down as president and is running to be prime minister. [40][18] He made 129 live TV appearances in August, more than four times the month before. [42]

12. 13

    Brazil's run-off is too close to call

    Brazil votes for president on Sunday, and a Datafolha poll taken from 20 to 22 October shows the race level. [43] Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator and the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, had 47% and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva 46%. [43] That gap is inside the poll's 2-point margin of error. [43] The two meet in a last TV debate on Friday night. [44]

    Flavio Bolsonaro47%

    Lula46%

    Why it matters — Voters over 60 now make up nearly a quarter of Brazil's voters, and a growing share of them back Lula. [45] Whoever wins will face a Brazilian Congress that has moved right: Bolsonaro's Liberal Party won 23 more seats in the lower house. [46]

13. 14

    Taiwan shuts down as Typhoon Champi passes

    Almost all of Taiwan shut on Friday as Typhoon Champi came near, with schools, offices and the stock markets closed. [47] All 262 domestic flights and more than 350 international ones were cancelled. [47] More than 1,200 people left their homes, and one person died after being swept away by waves. [48] Forecasters expect up to 90 cm of rain in the north-east by Saturday. [48]

    International350 flights

    Domestic262 flights

    Why it matters — Champi is expected to pass off the north-east coast and then turn toward China and southern Japan. [47][49] Taiwan prepares well for typhoons, which keeps deaths low. [47]

14. 15

    European Parliament asks to list the Houthis as terrorists

    The European Parliament voted on Thursday to ask the EU to put Yemen's Houthis on its list of terrorist groups. [50] The vote is not binding: EU governments decide, and all of them must agree. [50] A listing would freeze the Houthis' money and property in the EU and ban anyone there from funding them. [50] Members cited the Houthi naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and attacks on ships in the Red Sea. [50][51]

    Why it matters — Any one EU government can block the listing. [50] Britain has already promised defensive missions to protect Riyadh. [50]

15. 16

    Germany arrests a Ukrainian suspected of spying for Russia

    German prosecutors arrested a Ukrainian man, named only as Vadym Y., in Brandenburg on Thursday on suspicion of spying for Russia. [52] He is accused of gathering information since at least July 2025 on the making of armoured vehicles, ammunition and explosives. [53] Some of it came from people he approached in Europe's arms industry, prosecutors say. [52] Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany is the target of 'intensive' spying. [53]

    Why it matters — Germany is one of Europe's leading suppliers of weapons to Ukraine. [53] Several people accused of working for Russia and other powers have been arrested in Germany this year. [53]

16. 17

    Romania speeds up its Black Sea defences

    Romania's top defence council said on Thursday it will speed up its ways to watch the Black Sea and to counter mines and drones. [54] At least seven cargo ships have been hit near the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria in two weeks, and about 30 sailors are dead or missing. [54] Romanian F-16 jets shot down two Russian drones over Romanian waters on Saturday. [54] The council called the ship attacks a direct result of Russia's war spreading beyond Ukraine. [54]

    Why it matters — Romania and Bulgaria are both NATO members. [54] NATO said on Tuesday it will send more patrol aircraft, radar and drones to the Black Sea. [54]

17. 18

    Syria sends troops to Sweida as Israel flies in kit

    Syria has moved about 1,000 more soldiers to the western edge of Sweida, its southern province, bringing its force there to about 3,000, security sources told The National. [55] Sweida is the heartland of the Druze, a religious minority, and Druze militias have held its main city since July 2025. [55] Israeli helicopters have flown radar and surveillance gear into hills held by a Druze militia it backs, the sources said. [55] That militia, the Sweida National Guard, has sealed off 10 hills around the city. [55]

    Why it matters — One source said Israel may be preparing a permanent base there. [55] Sweida is one of the issues blocking a US push for peace between Syria and Israel. [55]

18. 19

    Venezuelans march for an election date

    Thousands of Venezuelans marched in Caracas, Valencia, Maracaibo and other cities on Thursday to demand free elections. [56] It was the opposition's first nationwide protest in nearly two years. [56] Acting President Delcy Rodriguez has run Venezuela since US forces seized Nicolas Maduro in January, and no election date has been set. [56] Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, says a vote must happen by July 2027. [56]

    Why it matters — Donald Trump backs Rodriguez, who was Maduro's vice-president. [56] The US government also keeps a strong hand in Venezuela's oil. [56]

19. 20

    Ecuador arrests opposition leader Luisa Gonzalez

    Ecuador's authorities arrested Luisa Gonzalez, the left-wing opposition leader, on Thursday in an inquiry into how her 2023 presidential campaign was paid for. [57] Prosecutors are looking at about $500,000 they say was moved through a network of entities to pay for campaign adverts. [57] Gonzalez lost to President Daniel Noboa in 2023 and 2025, and called the case absurd. [57] Her party and former President Rafael Correa called it persecution. [57]

    Why it matters — Seven people are under investigation, and warrants were served on three. [57] An earlier inquiry looked at claims that money from Venezuela paid for her 2023 campaign, which she denies. [57]

20. 21

    Riots kill eight in two Ecuador prisons

    Eight inmates died and 10 were hurt in riots at two prisons in Ecuador on Thursday, the prison agency said. [58] Four died at the Cotopaxi prison and four at the Pichincha prison. [58] More than 500 inmates have been killed in Ecuador's prisons since 2021. [58] Officials said those behind the riots will be moved to El Encuentro, a top-security jail built for the most wanted criminals. [58]

    Why it matters — Drug gangs order murders and extortion from inside the prisons, even in some that are under army control. [58]

21. 22

    Ethiopians flee fighting into Kenya at Moyale

    Hundreds of Ethiopians, mostly women and children, crossed into Kenya at the border town of Moyale, Kenyan police said on Thursday. [59] They fled fighting between forces of two Ethiopian regions, Oromia and the Somali region. [59] The fighting began on Sunday in a row over raising the Somali region's flag in the town. [59] The Kenya Red Cross said it is setting up shelter and food for 1,000 households at first. [59]

    Why it matters — Police reported gunfire and chaotic scenes in the town. [59] The clash is hundreds of kilometres from the separate war in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region. [59]

22. 23

    Italy pays toward fuel after truckers' blockades

    Italy's government approved emergency aid for road haulage, farming and fishing on Thursday, after truckers' protests over fuel prices. [13] It includes 60 million euros toward farm fuel, up to 45 cents a litre. [13] Blockades in Sicily and Calabria had stopped buffalo mozzarella being made, costing about 3 million euros in 24 hours. [13] Some food deliveries started again, but the protest spread to more southern ports. [13]

    Why it matters — In Milan, police are bracing for more unrest after young people marched over living costs and housing. [60]

23. 24

    Albanian MPs scuffle as student protests go on

    Opposition and governing lawmakers scuffled in Albania's parliament on Thursday after its leaders refused to debate ten days of student protests. [19] Opposition MPs held up photos of students hurt by police and blocked the speaker's podium. [19][61] The students want lower fees, more money for schools and universities, and an end to corruption. [19] More than 300 people, many of them police, have been hurt in the clashes. [61]

    Why it matters — The students have called a national rally for Saturday. [61] The protests grew out of anger at a luxury resort plan linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. [62]

24. 25

    Thousands march in Poland for abortion rights

    Thousands of people marched in Warsaw and more than 20 other Polish towns on Thursday, six years after the top court banned abortion for severe foetal abnormality. [63][64] Abortion is now legal only after rape or incest, or when the mother's life or health is at risk. [64] Parliament passed two bills easing the law this week, one by 217 votes to 213. [63] President Karol Nawrocki, a conservative, is expected to veto them. [63]

    Why it matters — Activists call the bills token gestures before next year's election. [64][65] Most abortions in Poland happen at home with pills from abroad, and helping one can bring three years in prison. [64][66]

25. 26

    UN to stop guiding Gazans home through Rafah

    The UN has told Palestinian officials it will stop receiving Palestinians coming home from Egypt and organising their entry into Gaza from mid-November, Drop Site News reported. [67] A senior source said it followed Israel's arrest of a Palestinian cancer patient and her daughter on Tuesday. [67] That was the day Rafah, Gaza's crossing into Egypt, reopened after about ten days shut. [67] The UN will keep helping medical evacuations. [67]

    Why it matters — Sick people and those travelling with them are nearly all of those who leave Gaza through Rafah. [67] Any replacement must work with Israel and travel through dangerous zones, the source said. [67]

26. 27

    Suu Kyi speaks to her son for the first time in five years

    Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's former leader, spoke by phone to her son Kim Aris on Thursday, their first talk in more than five years. [68][69] The army removed her in a coup in 2021, and she is now under house arrest in Naypyidaw, the capital. [68] Aris said she sounded fairly healthy, and her first question was whether he was well. [69] The 20-minute call was made from Myanmar's embassy in London. [69]

    Why it matters — Analysts say Myanmar's rulers are showing off her wellbeing to shake off their outcast status abroad. [69] Aris said she is 81, and one call is not regular family contact. [68]

27. 28

    Mob of 50 kills a foreign man in Durban

    About 50 people beat a foreign man to death in central Durban, a South African port city, on Thursday morning, police said. [70][71] He was in his late 30s or early 40s, and police have not named him or given a motive. [70] A security guard told GroundUp, a news site, that the group was out targeting immigrants. [72] A Ugandan man was attacked by a mob in Durban the day before. [72]

    Why it matters — Protests against migrants have spread across South Africa this year, and soldiers were sent to Durban two weeks ago after riots and looting. [71] Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe have already moved to bring their citizens home. [70]

28. 29

    Clashes in Tunis over deaths linked to police

    Police fired tear gas at protesters in Ettadhamen, a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia's capital, on Thursday after a man held on suspicion of drug dealing died. [73] His family says police abused him; local media said he swallowed drugs. [73] Protesters also clashed with police in Jebiniana, in the south, after relatives said a man died while being chased by security forces. [73] Students in Sfax called a strike after a student died waiting for an ambulance. [73]

    Why it matters — The clashes came days after the largest protest against President Kais Saied in years. [73] Anger is growing over living conditions and poor public services. [73]

29. 30

    Yemen's war pushes babies into hunger

    Seven-week-old twins, Raghad and Raad, are being treated for severe malnutrition, when a body is starved of what it needs, at al-Sadaqah hospital in Aden, Yemen's main southern port, the BBC reports. [17] Their family walked for three days after Houthi fighters reached their village. [17] Their father said the war pushed up the price of baby milk, so some days he could give them only water. [17] The hospital's malnutrition unit has 22 beds but admits only 13 children at a time, for lack of money, staff and equipment. [17]

    Why it matters — Even before the latest fighting, the UN expected half a million Yemeni children to suffer severe malnutrition this year. [17] Some children come back days after leaving, because parents cannot afford food or medicine. [17]

30. 31

    Unrest grows in Balochistan on both sides of a border

    Iran's south-eastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan has seen new attacks, killings and clashes in recent weeks, in Zahedan and smaller border towns, DW reports. [74] Those attacked include members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and a Sunni cleric. [74] Across the border in Pakistan, security forces said on Thursday they killed three gunmen and stopped an attack on an empty building site in Gwadar, a port in Balochistan. [75] The attackers set fire to several lorries. [75]

    Why it matters — The Baloch people live on both sides of the border, in some of the poorest parts of both countries. [74] A journalist told DW that Baloch armed groups may use gaps in security opened by the current war. [74]

31. 32

    Gunmen kill four police in north-west Pakistan

    Four police officers, two of them senior officers, were killed in a gunfight with militants in Karak, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Thursday, police said. [76] Two militants were also killed. [76] The same day Pakistan and the EU, at their yearly talks on terrorism in Islamabad, raised concern about threats coming from Afghanistan. [77] Pakistan names the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatists based in Afghanistan as its main threat. [77]

    Why it matters — Pakistan keeps asking other countries to press Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to stop groups attacking across the border. [77]

32. 33

    El Salvador sends 100 special forces to Haiti

    El Salvador sent 100 special forces soldiers to Haiti on Thursday to help find four of its air force technicians, two officials told AP. [78] The four went missing on Sunday when gangs attacked their armoured vehicle in Croix-des-Bouquets, an area held by armed groups. [78][79] They serve in the Gang Suppression Force, a UN-approved mission sent to fight Haiti's gangs. [79] Haiti's government said on Wednesday the four had been kidnapped. [78]

    Why it matters — It is the first big attack on the new force, which replaced a Kenyan-led mission. [78] An analyst at the International Crisis Group said finding them will be almost impossible unless the gangs hand them over. [78]

33. 34

    Oil from a hit tanker reaches UAE beaches

    The UAE confirmed on Friday that oil from a damaged supertanker has reached the beaches of Umm Al Quwain, one of its emirates. [80] The spill explains a strong fuel smell people in Dubai and the northern emirates had reported, the climate ministry said. [80] Shipping agencies say the tanker, the Gem No.2, was hit in a suspected Iranian drone attack on 9 or 10 October. [80] All of Umm Al Quwain's beaches are closed while crews clean up. [80]

    Why it matters — The UAE's climate ministry said the smell poses no health risk, but told people to stay away from oil on the shore. [80] The size of the slick is not yet known. [80]

34. 35

    China and Djibouti call for safe passage in the Red Sea

    China and Djibouti said all countries should be free to sail through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, after their foreign ministers met in Beijing. [81] Djibouti sits across the strait from Yemen, where the Houthis are trying to take the whole Red Sea coast. [81] China opened its first military base abroad there in 2017. [81] The statement also said powers from outside the region should not use force or one-sided sanctions. [81]

    Why it matters — Djibouti also hosts US, Japanese and French military bases. [81]

35. 36

    Canada and Turkey sign a partnership

    Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney met Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday, the first official visit there by a Canadian leader. [82] They signed deals on defence and energy and called the tie a strategic partnership. [82][83] Erdogan said trade of about $3 billion a year should grow to $10 billion, and talks on a free trade deal start this year. [83] Separately, Germany, France and at least six other EU countries object to calling Canada an 'associate member' of the EU. [84]

    Why it matters — Nearly 70% of Canada's exports go to the US, and Trump's tariffs have pushed Canada to look for other buyers. [83] The EU-Canada summit is in Montreal on 29 and 30 October. [84]

36. 37

    EU wants more Ukraine money from Britain

    EU leaders will press Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham to pay more toward Ukraine's defence in 2027 at an EU-UK summit on 20 November, the Guardian reports. [85] Ukraine says it faces a 70 billion euro gap next year. [85] The EU says it pays about 80% of Ukraine's needs and wants other allies to cover a third. [85] Britain's help to Ukraine equals 0.86% of its national income, against 1.5% for Germany, the Kiel Institute counts. [85]

    Why it matters — Diplomats say a youth travel scheme may be put off by six months so the summit does not fail. [86] Britain's chancellor, John Healey, presents his first budget next week. [85]

37. 38

    Greece bans social media for under-15s

    Greece's parliament passed a law on Friday banning children under 15 from social media, starting on 1 January 2027. [87] Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said platforms have two and a half months to find a way to check users' ages and protect their privacy. [87] Australia passed the first such law last year, and a similar French law was struck down by France's Constitutional Council in August. [87] Greece is one of seven EU countries working with the European Commission on age checks. [87]

    Why it matters — Greece's government says the ban is meant to curb 'endless scrolling' that costs children sleep and time with friends. [87]

38. 39

    Spanish and Portuguese unions plan a joint strike

    Unions in Spain and Portugal are discussing a joint 'Iberian general strike' on 11 November, Unai Sordo, head of the Spanish union CCOO, said on Thursday. [88] Spain's two biggest union groups, CCOO and UGT, already plan a walkout that day. [88] Portuguese unions have yet to decide whether to join. [88] Spain's strike falls 18 days before a snap election, called after parliament rejected the government's housing plans. [88]

    Why it matters — Protests over rents began in Madrid in late September, and thousands have since camped overnight in Lisbon and Porto. [88]

39. 40

    Egypt puts a leading editor on trial

    Egypt sent Lina Attalah, editor of the independent news site Mada Masr, to trial, the site said on Thursday. [89] She is charged with running a website without a licence, and the trial starts on 27 October. [89] Mada Masr says it has asked for a licence since 2018, and learned in 2023 the request failed over missing papers. [89] If convicted she faces a fine of about $18,000 to $54,000. [89]

    Why it matters — Six journalists from Matsadaash, a fact-checking site, were arrested last month. [89] The Committee to Protect Journalists says Egypt is using its media law to punish independent reporting. [89]

40. 41

    Guinea jails its former top judge for seven years

    A special court in Guinea sentenced Mohamed Lamine Bangoura, former head of the Constitutional Court, to seven years in prison on Wednesday. [90] It convicted him of corruption and of stealing more than $20 million of public money. [90] He was also barred from public office for five years, and his assets in Guinea and Senegal are to be seized. [90] He denied the charges. [90]

    Why it matters — He is one of about 180 senior officials of the former president, Alpha Conde, targeted by the court the army set up after its 2021 coup. [90] Opposition groups say the courts are being used as a weapon under President Mamady Doumbouya. [90]

41. 42

    Liberia's MPs look into US deportations

    Liberia's House of Representatives on Tuesday ordered three committees to investigate reports that the US is sending people from other countries to Liberia. [91] A lawmaker, J. Marvin Cole, said 20 deportees have arrived and about 1,200 more could follow. [91] He asked who they are, where they come from and what law allows it. [91] The committees must report within two weeks. [91]

    Why it matters — Cole wants the foreign and justice ministers to explain any deal with the US. [91] The reports revived debate about Liberia's founding by free Black Americans. [91]

42. 43

    Untreated water makes more than 500 ill in South Africa

    More than 500 people in South Africa have fallen ill with cramps and diarrhoea blamed on dirty water, in two separate places. [92] East of Pretoria, 408 people, most of them under four, got sick after a treatment plant went about three weeks without chlorine. [92] Tshwane's mayor, Nasiphi Moya, said officials failed to warn people not to drink it. [92] In the Eastern Cape, 111 Rhodes University students and 23 prisoners are being treated, and the government has opened an investigation. [93]

    Why it matters — Several parties want the mayor to resign. [92] The plant draws from a river badly polluted by sewage from failing treatment works upstream. [92]

43. 44

    Live grenades started Canada's deadly base fire

    A fire that killed four soldiers at the Wainwright army base in Alberta, Canada, on Saturday was started by a training exercise with live grenades, the army said on Thursday. [94] High winds and then a change in their direction made the fire much stronger. [94] Firefighters could not fight it directly because it was in the range's danger area. [94] Thirty-nine soldiers were hurt, 27 of them taken to hospital. [94]

    Why it matters — The troops were training for a deployment to Latvia, Canada's largest military mission abroad. [94]

44. 45

    US judge halts checks for non-citizen voters

    A US federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to stop operations looking for non-citizen voters in nine states before the 3 November midterm elections. [95] Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin said the checks likely break a Voting Rights Act rule against scaring voters. [95] She said the department may have relied on flawed data. [95] Nurses' unions, a Latino voting group and two California local governments brought the case. [95]

    Why it matters — There is no evidence that non-citizens have changed the result of any US election. [95] The department says it only wants to remove non-citizens who vote. [95]

45. 46

    Trump told to give evidence in his BBC case

    A US judge ordered Donald Trump to answer questions under oath by 11 December in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC, Britain's public broadcaster. [96][97] Trump is suing over a Panorama programme that joined two parts of a speech he gave before the 2021 riot at the US Capitol. [96] He cancelled a session on 16 October; the BBC's lawyer said he was campaigning in Georgia that day. [96] If he fails to appear, the worst penalty is the case being thrown out. [96]

    Why it matters — Trump's lawyers offered dates between 11 and 22 January instead. [96]

46. 47

    US opens a criminal inquiry into a Trump ally

    The US Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign adviser and senior homeland security official, people familiar with it told Reuters. [98] He is accused of profiting from his government role. [98] The case began with a referral from the homeland security department's own watchdog, which looked at his part in some contracts. [98] His lawyer told the Wall Street Journal he denies any wrongdoing. [98]

    Why it matters — Investigations of people close to Trump have been rare under Trump's justice department. [98] Trump said that if his people are not honest, his justice department will act. [98]

47. 48

    Reform UK donor once partnered an Iranian religious foundation

    Hossein Ghandehari, a billionaire who pledged millions to Reform UK, was in business with an Iranian religious foundation under the supreme leader's authority, the Guardian reports. [99] A French arbitration ruling shows his fund owned 49% of a venture with Astan Quds Razavi to build a fibre-optic cable across Iran from 2015. [99] The venture ended in about 2016. [99] Reform UK is the anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage, who said in March that Iran is a bigger danger to Britain than Russia's President Putin. [99]

    Why it matters — Ghandehari says he is moving his tax home to Britain so he can make regular payments to the party. [99]

48. 49

    Caribbean asks King Charles to back reparations talks

    Hilary Beckles, who chairs the Caribbean Community's commission on reparations for slavery, appealed to King Charles to support talks on them. [100] He spoke ahead of next month's Commonwealth leaders' meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, which the king will attend. [100] Beckles said the king's family had grown rich from slavery. [100] The Commonwealth's secretary-general, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said an apology from the king 'wouldn't hurt'. [100]

    Why it matters — Charles visits Guyana and the Bahamas next week, where leaders want a formal apology. [100]

49. 50

    Xi warns China of a 'new Long March'

    China's leader Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China faces a 'new Long March'. [101] He spoke at an event marking 90 years since the Long March, when China's Communist army turned defeat into a path to victory. [101] He said the army survived because it united around Mao Zedong, and that a firm party core is still vital. [101] The speech came days before the Communist Party's fifth plenum, a key meeting of its leaders. [101]

    Why it matters — Xi tied the Red Army's survival 90 years ago to China's struggles with other powers today. [101]

50. 51

    Ceuta becomes a campaign issue in Spain

    Spain's right-wing parties are making the Ceuta migrant crisis a main topic before the general election on 29 November, AFP reports. [102] Ceuta is a Spanish city of about 80,000 people on the coast of North Africa. [102] More than 70,000 migrants crossed into it from Morocco on 30 and 31 July, and thousands stayed for weeks. [102] This week police found 74 migrants, ten of them children on their own, crammed into one house there, and arrested a suspected ring leader. [103]

    Why it matters — The crisis is making it harder for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to win re-election. [102]

51. 52

    Chad's former prime minister leaves for treatment

    Succes Masra, Chad's former prime minister, has left the country for medical treatment two months after a presidential pardon freed him. [104] He was arrested in May 2025 and jailed for 20 years over a clash between herders and farmers in which at least 42 people died, charges he denies. [104] An associate said his health got worse in prison. [104] He went through Cameroon and Ivory Coast, where his family lives, toward France. [104]

    Why it matters — Masra is a fierce critic of President Mahamat Idriss Deby, whose family has ruled Chad for more than three decades. [104]

52. 53

    Hungary arrests Orban's former central bank chief

    Police in Hungary arrested Gyorgy Matolcsy, who ran the country's central bank from 2013 to 2025, on Wednesday, AP reports. [105] His lawyer said he is suspected of economic fraud that caused heavy losses and of using a forged document. [105] Matolcsy was one of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban's closest economic allies, and he denies wrongdoing. [105] A central bank audit had found property bought at inflated prices while he was governor. [105]

    Why it matters — Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who took office this year, has made Orban-era money abuses a priority. [105] The bank also gave hundreds of billions of forints of public money to its own foundations under Matolcsy. [105]

53. 54

    Cyprus police open a probe into Abramovich

    Police in Cyprus have opened an investigation into the money and tax affairs of Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire who once owned Chelsea football club. [106] A senior officer told a parliament committee they are looking at events from 2003 to 2006, and expect the work to take about six months. [106] It follows reporting by the Guardian, the BBC and others on leaked files from Cyprus. [106] They found aides, including staff at Deloitte's Cyprus office, appeared to backdate papers about his offshore companies. [106]

    Why it matters — Abramovich denies wrongdoing, and Deloitte Cyprus says it obeys the law. [106] The officer said the years that have passed will make the case harder. [106]

54. 55

    Madagascar pauses graft cases against its ex-president

    Madagascar's anti-corruption unit has paused court cases naming former President Andry Rajoelina and former Prime Minister Christian Ntsay, Africanews reports. [107] One concerns 36 kg of gold said to have gone missing from the mines ministry. [107] Another concerns contracts to supply school desks and benches, and a third the running of the country's wealth fund. [107] The unit has asked the High Constitutional Court whether it has the power to hear cases against people of their rank. [107]

    Why it matters — The cases stay frozen until the High Constitutional Court rules. [107]

55. 56

    Guterres links Europe's protests to wars abroad

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that wars abroad and street protests over prices are linked. [14] He said pressure is building everywhere over the price of food, fuel and basics, and interest rates are up. [14] He condemned violence in France and Italy but said the protesters' complaints are real. [14] He called it 'an El Nino of war', with conflict feeding conflict and its effects travelling far. [14]

    Why it matters — He named the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan, where homes, hospitals and power stations are being hit on purpose. [14]

56. 57

    Two Syrian police die in a raid on an Islamic State cell

    Two members of Syria's internal security forces were killed and five hurt in a raid on an Islamic State cell in Rankous, near Damascus, officials said on Thursday. [108] Attacks by the group on Syrian government forces rose from 16 in 2025 to 52 in the first half of 2026, the monitor ACLED counted. [108] The rise followed a December attack in Palmyra that killed two US soldiers and an interpreter. [108]

    Why it matters — Syria's new government wants to be seen as a reliable partner against the group. [108]